Naruto and the Deathly Hallows
by Reidluver
Summary: SEQUEL to NGoF. Voldemort tightens his grip on the world and three wizards set out on a secret quest. Unable to stop them, the Order employs the help of three familiar shinobi, who soon realize they are in for more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1: The Proposition

**Hello everyone! It's so nice to be back. :) I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and excitement for this next installment. (A reminder that this is a sequel to ****Naruto and the Goblet of Fire****, so it's pretty imperative that you read that one first)**

**Those I would like to thank are: **2-10-11eyesFINGERStoes, frik1000, otakuzen, Naruto5291, actressforever, hokage of dragon, MadnessLover, DarkRavie, angiesmile, Elaienar (4), Wednesday1990, Lord Edric, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, shinigamichild, 2lazy2login, satoz, SaphireShade, romantiscue, romantiscue, Lord Perle, master of cheese graters, Lake25, graypheonix, PancakeMixLordOfPantopia, Lupanari, Madeline Cullen, Moonfayth, KatonRyuuka, stormwork527, Orihime-San, Vero-Enelya, cardcaptor eternity, frostbit, ColorfulDesert, kitannawinter, Mesonoxian, UchihaKumiko, KakashiKrazed, Megaolix, Little Kunai (2), Utena-Puchiko-nyu (2), HughesHanajimaHilariaHypocrite, Zetsu's Other Half, Namikazelil, Fury074, Shai Neko, SumireMayonaka, Jumpingbeans480 (2), The Laughing Phoenix, Vulc10900, the true elec, pamellka (2), Fox Loves Shinigami, Cana Hatake, yaoifangrl4ever (2), ONeill-Fan14, The-Eighth-Sin, dragoncrazy247, Gerti, Rinn Brandt, mysteryP, GirlLoki, hombaroo225, Kyuubigrl1498, kimcat, Ice Demon Ranger, AmberFox and Lyell, Neko4, FantomoDrako, CarnivorousOak, shadowninja-yuna, Grogert331, yoru657, sugarcrazedninja, Sabaku no Sable, lambastic, SilverHowler, Misstress of Doom, TheRoseandtheDagger, Orchamus (3), HoTaGaiNsTaWaLL, roxas24, XXxXXLuciXXxXX, Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chick, Ice Vixen X (2), AyaseFanGirl, kittycat5361, **and **Anonymous!

**Anonymous**: Thank you for the review! No, I haven't read Full Metal Alchemist but I've heard of it, and I shall do my best to read it someday. Glad you liked the story and I'm sending this out the earliest I can! Your review came at 11:30pm Thursday my time, so I couldn't post the chapter yet. It's 5:30am now so I'm doing it as early as I can!

**Now, some of you were wondering, **_**Why July 31st?**_** To be honest, I had this entire first chapter already written before I even posted the last chapter of NGoF and there was a fair amount of chapter 2 already written. I wanted to wait because of two reasons: (1) it's the anniversary of NGoF and (2) it's J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter's birthday, so you can see that this is a very special date to this particular Naruto/HP crossover. I wish I could say there was a tie to Naruto on this date, but alas there isn't.**

* * *

**Who has seen **_**Half-Blood Prince?**_** I personally thought it was the best movie they've made so far, though there were two parts that I found quite frustrating. Other than that though, the acting was exceptional, especially Tom Felton :) and there was a lot of good humor despite the fact that it was such a dark book. I can't wait until the next two movies!**

**And now I would like to present—****Naruto and the Deathly Hallows****! (This is definitely my favorite book, followed closely by **_**Prisoner of Azkaban**_**)**

* * *

"We simply cannot let them go, Molly!" McGonagall protested, slamming the counter for emphasis. The whole Order was gathered in the Burrow while Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys from the twins on down were out cleaning. They had called for Minerva because she would have to know of the three wizards' choice to not return to school that year.

"Believe me, I've tried, Minerva," Mrs. Weasley said angrily, crossing her arms. "They simply won't listen to reason! All they keep saying is that Dumbledore left them with a job to do."

"The devil with what Dumbledore said! Hogwarts will be the safest place for Harry and the others! We can't have him galloping around the countryside on a wild goose chase!"

"I'll have to disagree there," Kingsley interrupted calmly. "From the looks of things, Voldemort basically has the Ministry within his grasp, and it won't be long until he interferes with Hogwarts like he did two years ago, yet this time Dumbledore is gone. There's no telling what he'll do, and if he knew where Harry was, just sitting there waiting for him, it'd only be a matter of time until he got his hands on the boy."

"I'm afraid Kingsley's right," Lupin admitted, though it was clear he did not like it. "Harry is safer on the run, where Voldemort has no idea where he is."

McGonagall sighed in defeat. "I would feel a lot better if they had more protection."

"They have Hermione!" Tonks offered cheerfully, her hand tightly grasping Lupin's. "There's no doubt that she has everything planned out, with a back-up for a back-up plan."

"And Ron is known to surprise all of us every once and a while," Bill chuckled. Everyone else grinned weakly, still fearful for the young wizard's safety.

"I agree with all of you completely," McGonagall continued, "but it's going to take more than brains, courage, and luck for them to survive! What they need on their side is experience! Knowledge of what a war truly is, because they cannot afford to make mistakes! That is something no mere 17-year-old possesses." Here she paused before staring off into space, her mouth slightly open in concentration.

"Unless . . . " she said quietly, then she grew excited, "Unless there is a way to provide them with that protection!"

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Weasley asked.

McGonagall didn't answer; instead she just turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Molly, do you remember the people you met almost three years ago, during the Triwizard Tournament?" When she was met with a blank stare she added, "The three shinobi?"

Realization dawned on Mrs. Weasley's face as she recalled the event. "Why—yes, yes I do!"

"Zose zree strange people?" Fleur exclaimed.

Bill grinned. "Yeah, I remember them, too! They were really something."

"Who are you talking about, Minerva?"

"What three people?"

"They are three shinobi—some type of ninja—who were accidentally summoned to Hogwarts by Neville Longbottom, and while they waited for Albus to send them back they helped protect Harry and the school, as well as the other champions! The adult, Kakashi, nearly _died_ saving them in the graveyard."

"Wait a minute, you're telling me these people were there in the graveyard along with Harry when Voldemort returned?" Lupin was beyond amazed at how this small tidbit of information had never made its way to him or the others in the room.

"It's a long story," McGonagall explained hurriedly, "but the two boys had a foreign power that the Dark Lord wanted, so he had them kidnapped alongside Harry. Naturally, at his loss the story of those three was hushed up, and it took a powerful Memory Charm from Dumbledore to make sure that Rita never wrote about it."

"Why is that? Where are they now?" Kingsley demanded.

"That's just the problem," the headmistress sighed. "You see, these people are from something similar to another dimension." There was silence for a moment as everyone tried to process what she said.

"But that's impossible!" Lupin protested.

"Actually, if you've seen what they're capable of, you'd believe it," Mrs. Weasley answered slowly. "I didn't see that much, but going off of what stories the boys and Ginny told me, it all makes sense. I was also there when they left."

McGonagall nodded. "They would certainly be formidable allies, and considering how strong they were two years ago there's no telling how strong they are now."

"Well, let's just say these people are from another dimension," Lupin began, still not completely sure he bought the story. "How are we going to get them here? Have Neville make the mistake again?"

"I highly doubt that will be necessary. Albus took careful notes on how he would send them back, and I'm sure we could use them to our advantage. I will return to the school immediately and bring back what I can." And with that, McGonagall excused herself and walked outside where she quickly Disapparated.

There was silence once again as everyone digested this rather difficult piece of information to absorb.

"Are you sure about this, Molly?" Tonks asked, doubt evident in her voice.

Mrs. Weasley paused for a moment then nodded her head resolutely. "With them at their side, I would be able to sleep better at night."

The rest of the Order decided they would just have to wait and see, because if Mrs. Weasely was fine with sending the three teenagers with these strangers, then that spoke greatly of their power.

* * *

A few hours later, McGonagall reappeared, and Mrs. Weasley hastily shooed the children off to do a few more last minute chores so they could have some privacy.

"I have them," the new Headmistress said in a hushed voice, as if speaking loudly would cause the notes to disappear. "It lays it out, in plain detail what needs to be done, in order to get there, and get back. It's almost as if Albus _knew _this would happen," she muttered under her breath.

"However, from the looks of it, this will only occur in the same place that they were summoned and sent back the first time, so there's no telling where that could be. If memory serves, it shouldn't be that dangerous because all three of them were together when they came, and there were no injuries on them."

"Are you sure these will work?" Mr. Weasley asked in disbelief, gazing at all the intricate instructions.

"Absolutely. If Albus figured out a way, then it must be true," McGonagall said fiercely, as if doubting the instructions was an insult to Dumbledore. "From what I can make out, this will make sure that, when done correctly, no more then five to ten minutes will have passed between the dimensional interchanges. This will ensure the fact that we won't be waiting years for them to come, and the shinobi won't be forced to make a tough decision to stay here indefinitely."

She paused for a moment and glanced up at everyone. "We will need someone to appeal our case to their Hokage, who is similar to our Minister of Magic, yet in a good way," she added at the looks of disapproval in everyone's faces. They had all but given up hope in the Ministry now.

There was silence as everyone mulled over the dangers of the mission, weighing the pros and cons of it.

"I'll do it," Lupin finally said. Tonks shot him a worried look and he grasped her hand tightly. "I'm aware of the dangers, but if they're as good as you say they are, it's a chance I'll have to take. Just tell me all that I need to know about this place."

* * *

Lupin watched the faces of McGonagall, Tonks, and the rest of the Order disappear from his sight only to be replaced by an interesting swirl of purple electricity that pulsated all around him. After what seemed like a few seconds but yet an eternity, a hole was ripped behind him and he was thrust through it, as if someone had grabbed him from behind.

He landed with a thud on dark tiles, unable to cushion his fall. He watched in amazement as the small ripple in time and space twisted slightly, then disappeared with a faint _pop!_ Taking a look at his surroundings, it appeared that he was in a hospital of some sorts, and to some strange stroke of luck he was the only one there, with the only occupants for company being two hospital beds, ready for new arrivals.

Lupin grunted from the discomfort and pushed himself up, dusting off his new robes. They had all decided that while wizard robes would most likely make him stand out, it would give more credit to his story and grant him the permission to see the people he sought. Bracing himself for whatever would happen, the wizard walked over to the door and slid it open.

As soon as he entered the hallway, people immediately ceased what they were doing and turned to stare at him. It seemed like a relatively normal hospital, even by Muggle standards, but what was most curious were the hairstyles. Even the small amount of people he happened to meet had the most outlandish hair colors and they were mostly spiky. If he didn't know better, he would have guessed he landed in a world made of Nymphadoras!

But no matter, he had business to attend to, so Lupin quickly pointed his wand to his throat as discreetly as he could and muttered the necessary spell to allow him to converse with the peculiar people. Once the slight tingling sensation subsided, he put on a cheery smile and walked up to the closest nurse, who was simply holding a clipboard and had short, brown hair.

"Excuse me, but could you bring me to your Hokage?" he announced in Japanese, the words foreign on his tongue.

"What business is it of yours?" she asked warily.

"I have a proposition, one that must be delivered only to the Hokage," Lupin insisted. His orders were to keep as few people informed about their request as possible.

She glanced at him again as if sizing him up, took note of the wand, but dismissed it as something unimportant.

"Right this way," she said coolly. As they walked down the hall, the man grew wary of how people raised their eyebrows of how tightly he grasped his wand, most likely thinking him ridiculous for placing so much confidence in—to their eyes—a mere stick. Going against his better nature, the man hastily stuff his wand into his pocket, his fingers itching for it to be returned.

About a minute later they arrived at what the wizard took to be the front desk, where the woman who was escorting him bent over to whisper to the receptionist. The man nodded and made some sort of gesture at the wizard, and before he knew it, there were two figures on either side of him. Lupin spun around and had to blink twice in order to make sure he was seeing things correctly.

There were two people in front of him, wearing masks that looked like different animals; one a cat and another a bird of some kind. The cat-masked one had spiky brown hair, while the other had similar gray hair. Both men wore similar garb: a mere silver vest over a dark blue sleeveless shirt, matching dark blue pants, and on their arms were long gloves made of the same blue material yet there were also silver arm guards over it, and what appeared to be small swords latched onto their backs.

Lupin could not help but gulp. Their presence was quite intimidating.

"We apologize," the nurse spoke, "but as you must know we need to take all precautions before showing you to the Hokage. If you would just follow these two ANBU, you will be submitted to questioning so we can make sure that you are not an enemy in disguise. Our current situation requires this," she added, as if to justify her actions.

Lupin's eyebrows rose. He didn't have time for this! He needed to see the Hokage _now! _

"Wait! I have been told that your Hokage would be willing to see me if you delivered the message that I am sent from the place Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara went nearly two years ago!" This new piece of information alerted those around him and they struggled with an answer.

"I shall present Hokage-sama with this message, and bring back news about how to continue," the cat-masked ANBU said. He held his hand up as if he wanted the wizard to be quiet, yet with two fingers instead of one, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Lupin was slightly startled that there were others like his kind that could do something along the lines of Apparition, but then reminded himself that McGonagall said these shinobi were not to be underestimated.

* * *

Tsunade sighed, Surely paperwork would have to end sometime, right? A furious knock on her door provided the escape she wanted and she eagerly bid the person entrance.

"Hmmm, surprised to see you here," she addressed the ANBU who knelt a couple feet away from her desk. "Don't tell me you've heard anything of the Akatsuki yet? We _just_ had dealings with—"

"It has nothing to do with the Akatsuki, Tsunade-sama," the man's deep voice assured her. "This matter has to do with a strange man who suddenly appeared in the hospital and wishes to speak with you."

"Really? Who is it?" To say she was curious would be an understatement. Usually those who wished to see her sent a message hawk, and why would someone appear in a hospital of all places? Unless—

"What did he look like?" she asked quickly.

"He wore long, black robes and had a few scars across his face, most likely evident of a fierce battle. Despite his rather frail appearance I sense much power within him, and he had a specific message for you, one he said would cause you to send for him at once."

"Yes, yes, what is it?"

"He said that he was sent from the place that Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara went almost two years ago."

Tsunade gasped, her suspicions made clear. How could it be? She thought that the incident before was merely an accident? Why were they contacting them? And why now, years later?

"Send for him at once!" she ordered, standing up as she did so. "But first, get me Kakashi, and have him don his ANBU uniform again. I need to make absolutely sure that this man is telling the truth!"

* * *

Kakashi sighed in content as he lay against his favorite tree, pouring over the contents of his beloved and infamous _Icha_ _Icha_ _Paradise_. Today he was rereading the most recent—and coincidentally, final—edition. It had taken a lot of time for him to fully understand the fact that the great Jiraiya-sama was dead. No one knew, but he had spent hours at the Memorial Stone, weeping for the man who had become a grandfather to him. Once he had his fill of grief, he began thinking about how horrible Naruto was feeling, as well as Tsunade. Other than him, those two were the only other living ones who were as attached to the Sannin as he was, though most likely more.

He had just sent Shikamaru after the boy to try and cheer him up, because he didn't think he was up to it. Shikamaru had recently lost his sensei to the Akatsuki—Asuma, one of Kakashi's dear friends, so he figured the chuunin would be able to reach out to the boy more effectively. There were times like thos where the jounin doubted his ability to endure the emotional torment the shinobi life brought, but he would always realize that despite the setbacks, there was absolutely no way he could turn his back. It had become too much of who he was.

Anyway, all he was looking forward to was a calm and peaceful day, pushing aside the horrible trauma from his mind and just enjoy himself. As he began to read, he sensed the chakra of another shinobi fast approaching, but after a moment's reflection relaxed and placidly turned a page.

"What is it now, Tenzo?" he asked in mild amusement. His friend and former ANBU charge appeared in front of him, kneeling in the traditional symbol of respect.

"I apologize for interrupting you, Kakashi-sempai," the ANBU began, his voice slightly muffled by the mask, "but the Hokage sent for you. She wants you to come immediately and wear your old ANBU uniform."

_I knew it wouldn't last long_, he mentally groaned. "I'll take it the mission is S-rank then?" _Haven't had one of those for a while._

"It's not necessarily about a mission," Tenzo began, "A strange man appeared in the hospital, saying that he was from the place you, Naruto, and Gaara went almost two years ago."

Kakashi dropped his book in shock. "Wha—what?" _What are they doing here? Is something wrong?_

"Did you happen to catch a name?" he inquired as he lifted the book off the ground. He brushed the dirt off its precious pages before pocketing it, a million questions and memories flooding his mind.

"No, but he was about our height, wearing black robes, carrying a peculiar stick—"

"A wand," Kakashi interrupted without thinking.

"Wand?" Tenzo asked, clearly confused.

"It's the way wizards channel their magic," the jounin informed him offhandedly.

"What's a wizard?"

"Never mind, I'll tell you all about it later."

"Short, brown hair," Tenzo continued, curious to find out more about this strange person when circumstances permitted, "and he had numerous scars across his face, evident of a fierce battle."

"Did he have a mechanical eye?" Kakashi asked in spite of himself.

"A—a _mechanical eye?_" Now Tenzo was _really _confused. What sort of people were these wizards?

"Forget that, it'd probably be the first thing you'd mention anyway," Kakashi waved off the comment. "I'll be sure to meet you in Tsunade's office in five minutes." With that the copy-cat ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke, closely followed by Tenzo who had a smirk on his face, eager to discover the mystery that was this strange man.

* * *

Lupin drummed his fingers on his leg nervously as he sat down next to the bird-masked _On-boo_ person, or whatever he was called. It had been about ten minutes since the cat-masked man left, and he had done nothing but sit. He just prayed that everything would work out and the Hokage person would let him explain his case. People came and went, some taking the time to glance at him, others too busy with the various events that came with a hospital.

At one point there was a man rushed through the entrance doors who was bleeding profusely and looked like he had gone up against a cheese grater. Lupin only got one good look at him because as soon as he entered with his friend that was holding him up, the man was surrounded by seemingly hundreds of nurses and doctors alike, tossed on a gurney, and some lay their hands over him and the area around him lit up in a green, ominous glow.

Those causing the green light ran alongside the gurney as the injured man was wheeled off down the hall at a speed faster than what Lupin personally viewed as safe, and he felt sick all of the sudden, the green glow all too similar to the cursed light of the _Avada Kedavra_. It was obviously their way of treating injuries, but it was too mind-boggling for Remus to think that something that reminded him of a force so devastating from where he came was so life-saving here.

Suddenly the cat-masked man from before appeared before him in a puff of smoke. Lupin didn't even blink, having been so used to the Weasley boys do this that he was practically immune to it.

_Strange, even some chuunin jump slightly whenever an ANBU or other advanced shinobi comes unannounced like this_, Tenzo observed. _What type of fighters are these wizards?_ For some reason, the prospect of being able to duel with one of this man's kind caused a mischievous smirk to appear on his face.

"The Hokage will see you now," he began, "We will need to ask you a series of questions to make sure that you are truly who you say you are." He then turned to the other ANBU. "You may go back to your post; I'll be enough for him." The bird-masked man bowed slightly before disappearing in the same fashion.

"Do you mind traveling this way to the Hokage? Or would you prefer to walk?" Tenzo asked pleasantly.

"Whatever's faster," Lupin sighed wearily. "I need to speak to your Hokage as quickly as possible."

When the smoke cleared, Lupin blinked and noticed they were in a simple room, the only furniture being a desk with a stack of paperwork off to the side, a chair, and some bookshelves. The woman sitting in the chair was the largest-busted woman he had ever seen in his life (he politely focused his eyes elsewhere), and there was another _On-boo_ standing next to her, his hair silver like the other man's, but with more volume and it looked like he had some type of wolf mask. The man who escorted him there took up an position next to the wolf masked man. There was also another woman with short black hair on the opposite side holding—a pig with pearls and a red vest.

_What kind of place is this?!_

"What is your name?" the woman he supposed to be the Hokage, asked.

"Remus Lupin," he answered.

"And you say you come from the place Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara went almost two and a half years ago, yes?"

Lupin paused for a moment, then nodded. _Of course it wouldn't be two years exactly, this _is_ another dimension we are talking about. The time difference must be slightly different. _"I am a wizard from England, and those three were brought to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by a student named Neville Longbottom on accident."

"Why are you here?" the woman continued to ask.

"Because Harry—the one Kakashi was asked to protect—is going to take on the Dark Lord Voldemort in order to save our world, along with his two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," Lupin explained, trying to keep it as simple as possible but still get enough details across. "I have been sent here by Professor McGonagall to ask their assistance again to protect these three to make sure they are not thwarted in their endeavor."

"From what Professor McGonagall understood, accepting missions around here means you ask for a price. We are prepared to do so, and have it here." Lupin reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small, palm-sized brown bag filled with gold and set it on the desk table. The Hokage straightened up immediately, pulled the drawstring, and gazed at the gold.

For some reason there was a strange glint in her eye and the black-haired woman was staring at her in concern.

"Uh . . . I was told that they were paid for their services last time, and have brought the same amount and a little more."

"How long will it be?" The woman asked after she had closed the small bag of gold, albeit with a little difficulty.

"Most likely around a year, just like last time, but we have made it so that no more than five or ten minutes will have passed from the moment they leave, similar to what happened two and a half years ago, if I am correct."

There was silence as the Hokage pondered over what Lupin had presented to her, then the ANBU with the silver hair walked forward and whispered something in her ear. She nodded.

"It seems that everything you have said is true so far, but I shall need to see a demonstration of your _magic_ as you so call it."

Lupin wasn't surprised. It appeared that this was a very militarist society and it would have been common protocol to discuss what had happened with the commanding officer, so it made sense that she would know about withdrew his wand, pointed it at one of the stacks of paperwork that lay on the ground, and muttered, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" To everyone's amazement but the silver-haired man, the stack of paperwork rose up in the air and encircled the Hokage.

As soon as he set it down carefully, however, the silver-haired man stepped forward and yelled, "_Stupefy!_"

Acting purely on instinct, Lupin shifted his center of gravity and bellowed, "_Protego!_" causing the spell to reverberate off an invisible wall and collide with the real wall to his right, leaving a small burn mark.

Lupin stared in shock at the sight of a wand in the other man's hand, as well as everyone else but the Hokage. This man chuckled and carefully took off his mask.

"Tsunade-sama, this man is telling the truth. He is a wizard."

* * *

**So—whaddya think? I know I got some remarks over the last crossover about there being no net change throughout the entire story, but there was a reason for that. I wanted to show how easily their two worlds could have combined. However—be rest assured that that **_**this**_** crossover will be different in that regard. There won't be incredibly drastic changes (like say . . . Naruto kills Voldy?) but they will be rather significant. I hope you will enjoy them! (There will also be some romance! And it won't be Harry and Gaara, for those of you who are wondering about the character choices I made)**

**Thank you all for taking the time to read and hope you have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Long Debate

**So uh . . . I'm so sorry for taking a while for this update—but as you will find this is a very long chapter! :) A lot had to happen here and the reunion between shinobi and wizards will happen in the next chapter. Please accept this long chapter as a thank you for all your kind words and patience!**

**I'd like to thank the following reviewers for their support and encouragement! It's so nice to start off this crossover with such enthusiasm! **2-10-11eyesFINGERStoes, Hiei Luvs Sweetsnow, psychotic kitsune, Jumpingbeans480, Grogert331, kittycat5261, GodOfStorms, KatonRyuuka, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Shai Neko, silverwind-39, aki6, shappire-fox, Diamonds-r-4ever-so-am-I, AlysiaStorms, Dragon Alchemist, GreenAwesomeness, romantiscue, angiesmile, HoTaGaiNstaWaLL, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, GirlLoki, SaphireShade, Ice Vixen X, actressforever, Orihime-San, Not So l33t, Mesonoxian, XXxXXLuciXXxXX, candyman123, Cana Hatake, Shibo26, Aguesccar, badgep, Ivy of Midnight, devi'ls angel, kuaispeed, KakashiKrazed, Anonymous, ColorfulDesert, Megaolix, frik1000, Fenrir of Ragnorok, 7Kyuubi7, Aldor, Sabaku no Sable, SumireMayonaka, Namikazelil, Lupanari, pamellka, Hiboshi, Sakamoto Michiko, lulubell1234, roxas24, stormwolf527, AvatardsUnite MM, iscreamdrizzle, The Laughing Phoenix, AyaseFanGirl, Moonfayth, Sora Hoshi, sanmitamaya, Obiki Doragon, minirowan, Rokudaime56, Uzumaki Naruko14, Lunatic Pandora1, Lord Perle, AznPuffyHair, Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chick, yaoifangrl4ever, Sandsibs4eva, Hani-senpai, Fury074, Lord Edric, Octopus :D, The Warrior Within, kimcat, krazypuppy8, otakuzen, yoru657, galactic commander neptune, Ding Dong Ding, Saberdragon, NoirCalifornianLapian, Nonangel, Lycaon, Octopus123, digiwriter1392, Lethy, MissOrange8587, totaltheTERRIER, Chindu Prince Of Darkness, The Great Daifuku, quintupledots915, meh, Gaarasgirl169, hirochick, Javiur, Ice Vixen X, ArrangedloveMatch, Octopus, Konerok Hadorak, JediBorme, **and** Silver Phoenix7**!**

**The 50th reviewer is** pamellka**! She has requested a "GaaraNaruKakashi father/son moment thingie" and that will come later on in the story. And then** Ice Vixen X** is the 100th reviewer, and her request is still pending. Now, I would really like to thank all those who reviewed because this is quite an impressive response to the first chapter and I cannot thank you all enough for your encouragement! It really means a lot and I promise I wasn't holding back on this next chapter because I felt like it. This chapter was just hard to write.**

**Also, just as a heads-up,** Naruto5291, Jumpingbeans480, **and** SilverMistKunoichi **have gotten the 1150th and 1200th and 1250th reviews (respectively) for NGoF and their requests are for a kiss for Kakashi and I'm still waiting on** Naruto5291 **and** SilverMistKunoichi's **request.**

**And as always, thank you to** cardcaptor eternity **for** **being an awesome beta!**

* * *

Lupin continued to gape at the man, and not because of his scar and the mask that covered his face. _How did he get a wand? Better yet, how does he know how to use it? What is going on here? Did something—_

"Don't worry," the man said as he held out a hand. "I am Kakashi who went to your world."

The wizard blinked and grinned weakly, embarrassed for having jumped to conclusions so quickly. He shook the offered hand. "I apologize; it's just that these are dangerous times."

Surprisingly, Kakashi nodded solemnly. "I understand. However, if it makes you feel any better, I will converse with you for a minute in English. _Do you need to release the translation spell, or can you speak both? I know we were able to, but I'm not sure if different rules apply to different functions._"

Lupin again found himself staring at the man in utter astonishment and he wasn't the only one. The other occupants in the room were fascinated at the new language and strained their ears as if listening more intently would cause them to understand. He cleared his throat. _"Ahh, no. It allows me to speak both. You really learned English in the year you were there?"_

Kakashi chuckled, _"Yeah, I couldn't really attend any of the classes as a student, but I wanted to learn about as much of your world as possible and that started with learning the language. So, Voldemort is starting to make his move?"_

"_More like ready to take over the world—Wizard and Muggle alike. Ever since he came back to life—which, I'm told by Professor McGonagall you know all about—he has been gathering all sorts of followers while kidnapping and killing in secret. The members of the Order all believe he will have completely taken over the Ministry of Magic any day now—" _(he paused to make sure Kakashi understood, then continued when the jounin nodded) _"—and that means we are severely crippled. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all believe that Dumbledore left them a mission, so they're skipping their seventh and final year at Hogwarts to pursue something. We were wondering if you and the other two could help protect them."_

The jounin frowned before asking, _"Why don't you ask Dumbledore? I'm sure he would at least give you a more satisfactory answer."_

Lupin's eyes widened as he realized that the poor man did not know the truth. The wizard let out a weary sigh and tried to figure out the best way to break the news.

Unfortunately, Kakashi knew that sigh all too well. _"You mean . . . he's dead?" _he asked quietly.

The wound still fresh, all the wizard could do was nod slowly. Silence passed between them for a minute or two. Kakashi knew that Dumbledore was as important to the Wizarding world as Harry Potter—like their Hokage. Things must have gotten pretty serious indeed. He was itching for details, but knew there were more important matters at hand.

"Well, we can discuss the parameters of this mission elsewhere," Kakashi said, reverting back to his native tongue. "It might be best to do it with Naruto, and we need to send a note to Gaara in Suna, explaining what we know so far and what's going on, giving him the option to come if he needs to. However, I feel like an opportunity to go back would be too much to resist," he admitted with a smile.

"I will leave Remus with you three and go find Naruto." With that, the shinobi gave them all a lazy salute and disappeared.

There was a brief silence once he left and Lupin turned to the other occupants in the room.

"Does he always do that?" he asked.

The Hokage smirked. "More than you know."

* * *

A few minutes later found Lupin walking around Konoha with Tenzo, who had abandoned his ANBU uniform and once again took the identity of Yamato. They were currently discussing the similarities and differences between their worlds, and Tenzo discovered the wizard was just as curious about his world as he was of his.

"This is an impressive village," Lupin admitted as he walked through the streets with Yamato, trying to take in all that he saw without lagging behind.

"Not too different than others," Yamato said. "What's it like where you live?"

"There are—"

"Yamato-taichou!" The two men turned around to address the voice calling out to them and Lupin was momentarily startled to see a girl with pink hair jogging up to them.

"Good morning, Sakura," Yamato said pleasantly.

"Good morning!" she smiled. She glanced at Lupin in curiosity, looking as if she were debating how to address the newcomer.

"Oh, this is Lupin," Yamato said quickly. "He came to request a mission."

"Really? Is it an escort mission?" Sakura asked. Usually missions that came from outside of Konoha were requested via messenger hawk.

"Well . . . I guess you could sort of call it that," Lupin admitted. "It's really complicated."

Not wanting to pry, Sakura left it at that. "Yamato-taichou, do you know where Naruto is? I went by his apartment to try and cheer him up but he wasn't there." It was then that Lupin noticed the small bundle of flowers that the girl had in her left hand.

"I don't know. Kakashi-senpai left a couple minutes ago to talk to him so they may have left to go somewhere."

A relieved smile danced across the girl's fair features. "Oh good, I was worried for him." As Lupin frowned in confusion the girl called out again.

"Kiba! Shino! Hinata! How are you?" Yamato and Lupin turned around to see who the girl was waving at. The wizard's eyes widened as he took in the appearance of the strange people coming towards him.

To start off they seemed a little worse for wear, with their clothes stained with what looked to be dried blood and they appeared to be quite worn out. One of the boys (it was a boy—right?) was covered in so much clothing Remus could barely see more than his sunglasses. The girl with long purple hair looked blind but by the way she was walking and focused on those beside her and the three in front Lupin could tell it wasn't the case. The other boy had some triangle tattoos on his cheeks, bearing an odd resemblance to the American Indians Lupin remembered learning about in school, and he was walking next to one of the largest dogs he had ever seen in his life.

"Just got off a mission near Wave Country," the brown-haired boy explained once they got closer. Lupin was slightly startled to see the two fang-like teeth as he spoke and wondered if the boy was similarly affected like him.

"And Anko-sensei volunteered to accompany us, because Kurenai-sensei was unable to," the girl said quietly.

"That must have been fun," Sakura smirked, before turning to Remus. "Oh . . . this is Lupin who came to request a mission."

"Really?" the fanged boy said in surprise. "My name's Kiba, this is Akamaru, Hinata, and the silent dobe is Shino," he explained, pointing to each in turn.

"Dobe?" Shino asked darkly. Lupin frowned and glanced around when he heard a lot of buzzing insects, confused as to why he couldn't see them.

"So what kind of mission is it, huh?" Kiba asked energetically, ignoring the glare his teammate was undoubtedly directing at him. "We may have just gotten back from one but we can be ready in no time!"

"Actually, I was instructed to specifically ask for Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara," Lupin explained, taken back by the boy's enthusiasm.

Everyone but Yamato raised their eyebrows in confusion. "But—Gaara's not even in this village," Kiba remarked as he scratched his head.

Sakura, however, stared at him in shock. "So . . . does that mean that you're a—" Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Kakashi's arrival.

"Naruto is waiting for us in one of the Hokage meeting rooms," he began without any introduction. "It was a little work getting him to come but I'm sure he'll be willing to listen to what you have to say. Have a successful mission?" he added, turning to Team 8.

"_Not really one for manners, is he?_" As Kiba chuckled, Lupin glanced at the dog in shock.

"H-h-how . . . why—why is that dog _talking?!_" No sooner did he ask the question did he realize it might not have been the best thing to do. Everyone was staring at him as if he had grown another head and Kakashi was looking at him suspiciously.

"You mean—you can understand Akamaru?" Kiba asked, in slight awe.

"Of course I can! Can't—can't you?"

"Well, _I_ can," Kiba explained, pointing to himself, "but that's because I'm from the Inuzuka clan." His explanation didn't do much for the wizard but just raised new questions. "Are you from a dog clan as well?"

"Um . . . I—guess you could call it that," Remus said quickly, not wanting to really go into the specifics. If it would explain why he was able to understand a dog talk when others couldn't, he figured that was the best explanation.

"What do you train?" Kiba asked.

"Uh . . . I—I train . . . wolves?" Lupin offered, struggling for answers. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it was good enough.

"Well, that explains the wolf scent on you," Kiba mused, nodding in confirmation.

_Wait, wolf scent? Does that mean he can smell that part of me? How can he smell me anyway?_

"We should probably get going, Kiba and Shino," Hinata piped up. "Hokage-sama is going to want our reports so we should get working on them."

"Yeah, guess you're right," Kiba sighed. "See you around!" Shino just left with a small nod in their direction.

"_Good-bye._" Now that Lupin was prepared for it, he could hear the bark form Akamaru, but at the same time he could hear the words in the back of his mind. Despite the fact that it slightly unnerved him, he was fascinated in the very least.

"I guess it's time to go speak to Naruto," Kakashi suggested once they were out of hearing range.

"Can I come, too?" Sakura asked. "J-just to give him these flowers?" she added sheepishly.

"That would be a good idea," Kakashi smiled. As they started walking towards the Hokage mansion Kakashi turned to Lupin.

"_I'm going to have to ask you why you could understand Akamaru,_" Kakashi addressed Lupin strictly, reverting to English. Lupin could see Yamato and Sakura leaning in out of his peripheral vision, knowing that their interest was peaked because of the foreign language.

"_Normal contact with any animal, no matter how long you've been with them wouldn't leave the smell that I find on you,_" Kakashi continued._ "Kiba is still young and he wasn't able to tell the difference but the smell I sense from you is almost as if you are a wolf in human form."_

Lupin's eyes widened in shock and his hands trembled slightly. _How—_

"_I need to know, Remus,_" Kakashi pressed, his visible eye narrowing in suspicion. "_I reserved my thoughts because I remembered hearing about the type of man you were from Sirius, but the fact that you were able to understand an Inuzuka hound when even I can't denies me the right to do so anymore. Naruto and Gaara's safety is my responsibility._"

"_You—you knew Sirius?_"

"_Yes, he told me that you and James were his best friends growing up._" Remus clenched his hands into fists to fight the bitter jab of pain in his heart. Despite the fact that it was a little over a year ago, the death of his last closest friend still ached.

Kakashi stopped walking and stared at Lupin in disbelief. "_Don't . . . don't tell me he's dead as well?_" Remus glanced back towards him with a slightly apologetic look and Kakashi grit his teeth in frustration. The jounin always knew that he had some sort of bad luck, with all the people he's ever considered to be his precious people perish—his parents, Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei, Sarutobi-sama, Asuma—to name a few. Were the gods so against him that they carried his curse into another dimension?

Lupin jumped backwards in surprise as Kakashi punched a nearby lamppost. The black metal bent forward, leaving a large, round bend in the shape. Kakashi's eye was covered in shadow and the wizard wondered whether or not it was a good thing to tell him.

"_Who killed him?_" Kakashi hissed.

"_Bellatrix Lestrange—one of the Death Eaters. She was in Azkaban when you were at Hogwarts, so I doubt you have ever heard of her._" Kakashi was silent for another few seconds, and Lupin glanced at Sakura and Yamato nervously. The young girl appeared concerned, while it was obvious that the other man could understand what was going on.

"_Um . . . well the answer I think you're looking for is that I'm a werewolf,_" Lupin said slowly, feeling bad for doing nothing but be a bearer of bad news. The jounin let his hand fall to his side and walked up to Lupin as if nothing had happened.

"_I think I remember reading about that,_" Kakashi said thoughtfully as they continued to follow the others._ "You turn into a wolf form at every full moon, right?_"

"_How did you know that?_"

Kakashi shrugged. "_I read a lot of books while I was at Hogwarts. I'm sorry that you have to go through that, though. From what I read it wouldn't be a pleasant experience."_

"_No use in worrying over it now._"

* * *

A few minutes later, Lupin met up with Tsunade, Shizune, and Naruto in one of the meeting rooms. The blonde was not at all like Remus had envisioned him to be. (For some reason a mini Fred or George stood out in his mind) Naruto was dressed in vibrant orange and black which contrasted greatly with his depressed aura. The flowers that the pink-haired girl brought cheered him up slightly, though Lupin had to wonder if it was really about the flowers.

As he explained the reasons why he was in Konoha for the second time that day, Lupin was worried when the boy showed hardly any indication that he was listening or taking in what he said. It was only when Lupin nervously addressed that the Order didn't know what Harry and his friends were doing because Dumbledore had passed away did he get any emotion out of the boy.

"He's dead?!" Naruto exclaimed. He stared at Lupin as though ordering him to say it was a joke.

"Snape killed him."

The blonde opened and closed his mouth a few times as if wondering what to say, but then settled on silence. He slumped into his chair and sighed. "Anyone else we know die?" he asked sarcastically.

"Er . . . Sirius and Mad-Eye Moody," Lupin answered slowly. He felt Kakashi's eyes on him and the wizard's prediction as to whether or not the jounin knew the Auror was confirmed. Naruto's mouth fell open in horrified astonishment and Lupin could tell that the boy hadn't really expected there to be any other deaths.

Remus jumped backwards in fright as Naruto swore loudly before jumping to his feet and slamming his fist onto the wooden table, splitting it in two. None of the other shinobi looked alarmed at this—in fact, they looked back at Naruto sadly. Lupin began to wonder if it were customary for the people of this dimension to start hitting objects out of frustration. He had better warn Molly about that when they returned.

"He lost one of his most important people yesterday," Kakashi whispered, noticing the look on Lupin's face. "He's normally very cheerful and it's hard to get him to shut up."

"Why is everyone dying?" Naruto wailed to no one in particular. Sakura stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. A visible change overtook the boy and Lupin could tell that it definitely wasn't the flowers.

"_Reparo!_" There was a sharp intake of breath as the demolished table suddenly repaired itself and three pairs of eyes stared at Lupin incredulously.

"Talk about a handy spell," Tsunade muttered. "So . . . do you want to come, Naruto?" Naruto glanced at his hands, clenched them angrily, and let a grim smile grace his lips.

"I will do everything I can to make sure that no one else dies!" he declared passionately. Although he disagreed, Lupin couldn't help but find himself believing that yes, they could defeat Voldemort without any more loss of life. The shinobi's confidence was quite overwhelming.

"That's the spirit, Naruto," Tsunade said happily. "How about you go gather your things for this mission? Pack light, but enough to last for an undetermined amount of time." Naruto grinned before saluting the Hokage. As he made his way towards the door Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll come help you." Naruto's grin grew even wider and there was a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," he said humbly.

"What about Gaara?" Lupin asked once the two teenagers left.

"He lives in Suna—about a three day's journey from here," Tsunade responded.

"The problem would be getting him to want to come, though," Kakashi said thoughtfully.

"Why is that?" Remus had hoped he wouldn't run into this problem. If the boy was already on a mission though, he supposed he could wait.

"Well, he's the Kazekage," the jounin said simply. Before Remus could ask what a Kazekage was, Kakashi continued, "It means he's the leader of his whole village."

Remus' eyes widened. "His whole village?" Everyone nodded. "One as large as this one?" Another nod.

"So . . . I guess if we can't have him," Remus muttered, "is there anyone else you would suggest from your village?"

Tsunade looked thoughtful, but Kakashi just laughed. "A much as Tsunade-sama would prefer that—" (_How_ Kakashi could survive the deadly glare that the female Hokage was directing at him Lupin would never know) "—I don't think we should count him out just yet. Maybe . . ."

The shinobi frowned (or at least Lupin thought he did) for a moment and was deep in thought. "You can Apparate, right?" he said suddenly, turning to the wizard.

"Huh? Oh—uh, yeah."

"Do you have to have been somewhere previously to Apparate there? Can you go somewhere you've never been before?"

"As long as I have a clear knowledge of where I'm going I should be fine, I guess," Lupin mused. "Why?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled upwards happily. "Because we're going to Suna."

It took a few minutes to properly explain what Apparition was to Tsunade, but after seeing a demonstration she gave her permission to let them try it. The Hokage's assistant, Shizune, looked like she had a few more words to say on the matter, but once she saw her master's resolve decided to back down.

"Now remember," Kakashi began, pointing to a map, "Suna is in the desert of the Wind Country. Our target is outside the Kazekage mansion, located in the middle of the village. We don't want to end up inside it, partially because the wards surrounding the building may interfere and cause you to splinch us, but mainly because they won't take too kindly to us coming so abruptly."

Remus nodded but was unable to quell the rising fear in his chest. Apparition was a tricky business to begin with, and he had never done Side-Apparition before. Splinching himself or the man who would help Harry win the war wasn't at the top of his list at the moment.

"I know you'll do a great job, Remus," Kakashi said, noticing the man's discomfort. "I will focus hard on our destination as well since I have been there before." Lupin couldn't help but smile. If Kakashi was willing to take the risk (and it seemed he was properly informed of the dangers involved) then the wizard was willing as well.

"Take my arm," he said, holding out the preferred limb.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at him. "I don't know how you do it in the wizarding world, but I always wait until after the first date."

Tsunade groaned and rubbed her temple. Trust Kakashi to try and break up the tension with a perverted joke. It appeared it was doing more harm than good though; the wizard looked absolutely flustered.

"O-oh . . . I didn't—didn't realize . . . I'm not . . . I'm happily married—"

The jounin laughed and patted Remus on the back. "I'm just joking."

"R-right." A small smile crept onto Lupin's face as he was reminded of Sirius. He would joke in that manner from time to time just to see Peter's blush, Remus' scowl, and hear James' laugh. It was also hilarious to see how some of the girls who obsessed over the dark-haired wizard reacted.

Tsunade, Shizune, and Yamato watched in fascination as Kakashi grasped Remus' arm. The wizard clenched his eyes in tense concentration, and after a moment's pause, he and Kakashi vanished with a loud _CRACK!_ The three remaining shinobi jumped slightly at this, having not expected such an abrupt and loud noise.

"Seems like they left all in one piece," Yamato noted with fascination.

* * *

The booming voice of Temari lashed out as she entered through the door to the Kazekage office.

"Gaara! Did you stay up all night again?" The redhead cringed. He was hoping she wouldn't find out.

"You _know_ you're in trouble," Kankuro smirked, looking up from the paperwork he was "working" on. His younger brother had asked for his help twenty minutes ago and while he was doing his best to concentrate, he couldn't help thinking about that beautiful, brown-haired girl he had been seeing for a while now . . .

The Kazekage had been spending that past two months immersing himself in work so much that his siblings were worried. He was taking on the normal duties of being Kazekage as well as being in charge of scouting on any Akatsuki movement. Despite the fact that they had their way with him, there was still a chance that they would harm the safety of his village, or (even worse) go after Naruto, which was more likely. No matter how Naruto brushed away what he and his fellow friends did, Gaara was eternally grateful and wanted to do his best to assist in any way possible.

"I had some urgent information to attend to concerning the Akatsuki," he protested. Even _he _could hear the weariness in his voice.

"Bull to that! I know you're staying up too much!"

"I don't need that much sleep," Gaara mumbled.

"Really? Then why do you look like you're about to fall asleep any minute now, hmm?" she growled, gesturing to his drooping form.

Gaara immediately straightened his posture and resisted the urge to pop a shinobi pill in his mouth. _I'll do it as soon as she leaves,_ he reasoned.

"I don't care how I look, Temari," he sighed as he rubbed the side of his head. "Must I keep reminding you how I've gone the past fifteen years of my life without sleep?"

"And must I remind _you_ about the incident three days after you returned to Suna? Where you fell asleep during the council meeting?"

Gaara winced at that. It had been a very unpleasant experience. Even though the village was overjoyed at his return, the absence of Shukaku left room for doubt of his abilities. Truth be told, he didn't have nearly as much mastery over sand like he once did but as he practiced and gathered up his strength this past while, he was getting closer and closer to the level he was at before.

Which is _exactly_ why he avoided Temari and went to the meeting anyway, even though he felt like collapsing then and there and sleeping for eternity. The last thing he remembered was something about border control and then he was staring at his ceiling a day later. Fortunately, his behavior was excused because he had just been brought back to life and he no longer had to fear sleeping, and it seemed like fifteen years of insomnia was trying to catch up with him.

The fact was he was _afraid_ to sleep; the threat of nightmares and being so vulnerable foreign to him, but he figured out a solution. Gaara would drive himself to the point of exhaustion and sleep as long as his body permitted him, then do the same thing over and over again. Sleeping in that fashion dispelled any chances for dreams. His sister did _not_ approve of this way of living, however, and did everything in her power to get him into a regular sleep routine.

"That was different." He tried to show that the matter was over by reaching out for a new file and dipping his brush into more ink, but Temari wasn't finished yet.

His older sister snorted. "Oh please, like I'm going to listen to _that!_ You may be the Kazekage, but in these last two months you've been free of Shukaku you have been acting like a complete child! Sleep isn't going to kill you, and you can't go living off of shinobi pills forever."

Her eyes softened and she lowered her voice. "I know you're afraid, but our offer still stands to be there with you the whole night, making sure nothing happens to you until you get the hang of it." Gaara stared at the mission report in order to avoid the looks of his brother and sister.

Somehow, with Shukaku gone, he was having more trouble controlling his emotions and that was another factor that scared him. In the back of his mind he knew that part of that was attributed to the fact that he wasn't getting any sleep—but he kept pushing that thought out of the way. Not being in control of his emotions made him feel even weaker and there were times he didn't know what to do, so he just dived right back into work. He knew he was being foolish, but these new experiences of being more—"human" and knowing that he had the acceptance of his village and the complete support of his siblings was just so strange.

"Kazekage-sama," an ANBU reported in, saving him from answering his sister. "Hatake Kakashi has requested an appointment with you."

"When can I expect him?"

"He's here now, Kazekage-sama. According to those on guard, he suddenly appeared along with a man who wears a long, black robe."

Gaara frowned. Kakashi didn't seem like the type of person to just come unannounced and demand a conference. He was lazy but he wasn't rude. "Did he give any reason for wanting to speak with me?"

The ANBU nodded. "He said that he had a proposition to offer you that had to do with a—_Hogwarts_," the man said distastefully.

It was only due to his many years of wearing a stoic and emotionless expression that Gaara did not drop his brush and gape at the ANBU stupidly. "Send him in," he said once he made sure his voice would be steady. The ANBU bowed at his request and exited the room. Gaara became so absorbed in memories and questions that he didn't realize his siblings were talking to him until Kankuro shook his shoulder.

"What?"

Kankuro frowned. "We said—what is this Hogwarts?"

"Remember what happened in Konoha when Naruto and I were in the hospital two and a half years ago?"

"The thing with the wizards?" Kankuro asked. If he didn't see his brother perform this "magic" before his eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. Even then he still had his doubts.

The redhead nodded. "It seems—" He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in."

"Hatake Kakashi and Lupin Remus," the ANBU from before introduced. Gaara scrutinized the wizard before him, because it was only a wizard who would wear robes like that. He looked relatively young, but with the graying hair he couldn't be sure. From what he had observed in the Wizarding world, people's hair color wasn't as vibrant as it was in his, so unlike with the Hatake clan, gray hair certainly meant old age. There were also a lot of scars on his face leading Gaara to believe he had seen his share of battles.

"Good day, Kazekage-sama, Kankuro, and Temari," Kakashi said to each in turn, bowing slightly. The newcomer noticed this and quickly copied Kakashi, bowing at the waist rather hurriedly.

Remus was rather stunned at the appearance of the Kazekage. When Kakashi told him that the boy they were looking for was the leader of an entire village, he felt inclined to believe the ninja was just messing with him. How could a fifteen and a half year old boy be entrusted with that much responsibility? However, as he stood before the rather odd-looking child, Remus remembered Harry Potter. Hadn't everyone put their faith in him to vanquish Lord Voldemort since his return when the boy was just fourteen? Weren't they all believing a mere seventeen-year-old could put an end to all the madness and suffering that had plagued their world for over two decades?

"What has happened that forces you to cross into our dimension, Remus?" The wizard could tell the boy certainly carried himself like a leader.

As Lupin explained everything he had already said in Konoha, he took notice of the two people standing alongside Gaara. He could see one was a boy and one a girl, though he had no idea which names were associated with which gender. Both teenagers stood next to Gaara quite protectively, as if daring Remus to try and attack their leader. The boy reminded Lupin of a Muggle clown, and the girl had a thick, black, metal rod of some sort that he supposed could only be her weapon by the way she was grasping it. If anything, they did their job well.

Gaara was silent once Remus finished his brief explanation. "So . . . that means Dumbledore-sama is dead then, correct?" Lupin nodded sadly. "Would it be improper to ask how it happened?"

"It was Severus Snape. He and some Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts this past May and he killed him." Gaara's eyes widened.

"The Potion's professor?" Remus noted the same incredulous look on the boy's face that everyone shared when they learned of what happened. Snape had sure played his part well, though Remus couldn't help but reserve some of his anger towards Dumbledore for putting so much blind faith in the man. His compassionate weakness was his downfall.

"So you wish for our services to watch over Harry, Hermione, and Ron as they embark on whatever quest Dumbledore-sama sent them on to destroy Voldemort?"

"That is our intention. I brought payment with me and a fair share will be given to you for your village," Remus said. The boy and girl scowled and glanced at Gaara, clearly against him going.

"As much as I would like to go," the redhead began slowly, "I can't. My responsibility is here and not parading about on a dangerous mission where I could get killed. I already failed this village once in that regard," he muttered darkly. Before Lupin could wonder what he could possibly mean by that last statement, Kakashi stepped forward.

"I understand your difficult situation, but would you be willing to come to Konoha and simply be involved with the discussion of what to do next? Your insight would prove invaluable, and it would be an excuse to see Naruto for a bit and take a break from paperwork." Kakashi's joyful and carefree tone suggested an ulterior motive, though Lupin couldn't be too sure.

Gaara quirked an eyebrow—or he would have, if he had any. "I can hardly explain a six day absence to the elders."

Kakashi stepped forward and placed a hand on the desk with the other resting on the small of his back. "Well, then I guess it's perfect that we have a wizard who can Apparate us there and back." Gaara's eyes widened skeptically and the two guards standing beside him frowned in confusion.

"The both of us?" Gaara asked, directing his attention to Lupin. Before the wizard could respond the blonde girl spoke out.

"'_Both of us?_'" she mocked. "I may not know what 'apparate' means, but you're not going _anywhere_ to decide _anything_ without us, Gaara!"

"Yeah, Temari's right," the boy (whom Remus now knew to be Kankuro) said. "We'll be your guard."

"You're right—I apologize," Gaara responded. "Though I don't know how Remus will be able to bring the four of us along."

"He's got a point," Kakashi muttered. "I could try my hand at it, but at the very least you could make more than one trip."

"Or I could make a Portkey," Lupin suggested. Again, Temari and Kankuro were perplexed but Gaara and Kakashi nodded thoughtfully.

"What's a Portkey?" Kankuro asked.

"An ordinary object magicked to transport you to a specific location when you touch it," the wizard hastily explained.

"Use this." Gaara tossed Lupin a plain rolled scroll.

"Perfect."

"Look, before we do anything, I think we should let Baki know about this and see what he thinks," Temari interrupted. At Gaara's nod, she continued, "I passed by him on the first floor, checking up on the mission office. I'll go get him."

There was a lingering awkwardness in the air once Temari shut the door. Kakashi seemed quite comfortable standing in the room as well as Gaara, but Lupin could feel Kankuro's eyes scrutinizing him, as if he still couldn't figure out his feelings on the wizard. Lupin could sense the hesitation that most students exhibited before they exploded in questions about topics they weren't too sure about.

"So let me get this straight," Kankuro began and Lupin fought to suppress a smirk. "You are from another dimension where people use little sticks to cause unimaginable things to happen and there is this snake guy who is hell-bent on controlling the world and your only hope for survival is the trust in three seventeen year olds? I find that a little hard to believe."

Lupin felt the boy was being a bit unfair, but then reminded himself that he had to see it from a Muggle point of view. Of course it would seem farfetched and the only way to give credit to the story would be solid proof. "What would you like me to do?" he asked as he withdrew his wand. Before Kankuro could come up with an idea, Kakashi leaned in and whispered something to Lupin, who chuckled.

"Excellent suggestion." He made a sharp jab in Kankuro's direction and bellowed, "_Silencio!_"

Having no knowledge of the English language, Kankuro merely raised an eyebrow as if to say, _"Well?"_ It was only when he tried to vocalize his question that he realized what had been done.

"Now why haven't I thought of that for the past two years?" Gaara wondered aloud. Lupin and Kakashi laughed as Kankuro angrily gesticulated to his brother before Lupin lifted the spell.

"What's going on here?" a voice called as the door swung open. Everyone's attention was diverted to a door where Temari followed a man with a cloth that covered most of his face. Lupin idly wondered if covering half of your face was a sort of trend for the people in this dimension.

"This man is from the dimension I traveled to with Naruto and Kakashi," Gaara began, "and he has come back to request our help."

"So you're the ones who paid us in gold?" Baki asked. He remembered how pleased the elders had been at the payment Gaara came home with.

"Yes, and I brought more," Lupin said, guessing that was what the man needed to hear. "Situations are nearing their worst right now and the Order believes that the protection they provided two years ago will prove invaluable in the fight against Voldemort."

"And you want the Kazekage, the leader of our village, to _go?_" Baki scoffed.

"It seems like that will prove impossible," Lupin said calmly, "but Kakashi and I believe that it would be best to discuss the matter together in Konoha and determine the best course of action. And I can make it that we can go there and back within a day," he added quickly, noting the argument written on Baki's face.

Baki raised his eyebrows at the last remark and turned to Gaara for an explanation. The redhead nodded curtly and Baki sighed. "Why not? As long as the replacement is from Suna."

"Great," Lupin sighed. While he understood the reason for the delay, it was all rather taxing and he had already been tired before leaving the Burrow. He had been working with a young werewolf he had met that showed to be quite promising to work for their cause instead of the Death Eaters when Tonks contacted him.

"Let's bring your stuff before going, Kazekage-sama," Kakashi said. When everyone gave him suspicious looks he shrugged his shoulders innocently. "Whomever we find as Gaara's replacement might find them useful." Gaara threw a wry smile in Kakashi's direction before agreeing.

"It would seem the sensible thing to do, and that way we have an excuse for not being in my office."

Gathering all of Gaara's belongings took no time at all and soon the attention was directed at Lupin. "Once I cast the charm, all you need to do is touch it and we will arrive in Konoha. I will set up a few seconds delay to give you time. _Portus!_"

The scroll glowed a bright, blue color and once they all placed a finger on it they felt a tug on their navel and were swept away.

* * *

"Nice to see you join us," Tsunade chuckled. The six of them were sprawled out on the floor and the three who hadn't traveled by Portkey before were rubbing their head gingerly.

"Are we really in Konoha?" Temari asked in amazement.

"Guess so," Kankuro muttered as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Did you use a Portkey?" Naruto asked, still standing by the door that Yamato had recently opened. "Hi, Gaara!" The redhead gave Naruto a small smile before turning to Tsunade.

"Thank you for allowing us the privilege of discussing the Wizarding matter in your village, Hokage-sama," he said respectfully.

"Don't mention it." Tsunade smiled. "Good thing we had extra chairs. Please sit down and we'll do our best to move through this as quickly as possible."

It took nearly an hour for Lupin to explain what Voldemort had been doing since his return, what the Order was doing to combat his advances, and the dangers that Harry and his friends faced with trying to undertake whatever mission they were fighting for. The questions that his audience had asked were quite militaristic in nature and their contemplative nods at his answers eased his fears. If the precautions and steps they were taking received the approval of _these_ people, then there was hope for them yet.

"I agree that having protection provided for these children is a good idea," Tsunade said, "but it seems like three is a little excessive if their main objective is to stay hidden."

"We have no idea what they will be needed for though," Gaara countered. "Especially if Harry and the others can't give any specific details."

Lupin opened his mouth but Kakashi beat him to it. "I think that three is a perfect number."

"Why is that?"

Kakashi leaned forward, placed three fingers on the table, and made sure to make contact with everyone before continuing. "The way I see it, this battle is being fought on three fronts—one with Harry, Ron, and Hermione doing whatever Dumbledore-sama told them to do," (he lifted a finger for each of his points) "two with what the Order is doing to thwart Voldemort's advances and protect those they can, and three—what will inevitably happen at Hogwarts."

He turned to Lupin. "With Dumbledore-sama dead, it's quite possible that Hogwarts is going to be breached in some way. I'm going to bet you anything that Snape will have something to do with it because of his many years of experience there. It also could become a training ground for Voldemort to influence the younger minds of the Wizarding society. Any powerful tyrant knows that if you want to control the future you have to look towards the children." Kakashi paused for a moment to allow his argument to sink in.

"And this is why I think that the three people who go should be distributed as such, to provide support to each side of the war—someone to protect Harry and his friends, someone to help the Order, and someone to protect the students and Hogwarts and make sure things don't go too out of hand. Logically, I believe that Naruto would be the best choice to help Harry. Since our last encounter, Voldemort knows of the power that resides in him and tried to make use of it. If he learns that Naruto has returned then he might try again. The safest place for Naruto would be on the run with Harry and the others."

"Now, for the Order, I think that my services would best be of use there. I have had a lot of experience in assassination and other necessary war strategies. Plus, Voldemort doesn't have too much of a personal vendetta against me—and the fact remains that he probably thinks I'm dead." Lupin was amazed to see how the jounin could make that statement so lightly.

"And as for Hogwarts," Kakashi continued slowly, "I think Gaara might be able to pull it off. The students there already respect him and they're familiar with him, which makes it easier for them to trust—"

"But there's still a risk!" Temari growled, unable to stop herself.

"I understand that, but it is certainly the safest place for him to be." Kakashi pointed to Gaara. "Shukaku no longer resides in Gaara, so there is no reason for Voldemort to want to capture him for power."

"Doesn't seem like this guy needs a reason to kill someone," Kankuro muttered darkly.

"It's also taking place at a school, and with the amount of work that Voldemort has on his plate, I'd say that enacting revenge on someone patrolling a school is pushed out of the way of needing to defeat Harry and advancing his forces throughout England."

Baki slapped the table in irritation. "But it's still too dangerous to send someone as important as the Kazekage to a place where he _might_ be safe!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Send Temari or Kankuro with him as his guard. I'm sure two highly trained shinobi would be more than enough of a match for whatever low-lying underlings Voldemort would entrust to Hogwarts."

It was silent for a while as everyone mulled over the argument. Naruto and Tsunade were nodding thoughtfully and Lupin was impressed by the jounin's take on things. He found himself liking Kakashi's idea better, and he hoped that McGonagall would agree. The shinobi from Suna though, looked like they needed a little more convincing. Gaara's expression was carefully controlled to the point where it was unclear how he was feeling, but judging by the furtive glances he threw at Baki and the others he was hoping they would agree.

Tsunade broke the silence. "Yamato, send in Sakura."

Everyone's attention was diverted to the door as the jounin carried out the order. He returned a few minutes later and led the pink-haired kunoichi inside before resuming his place near the door. Sakura stood at attention after sending a half-bow in Tsunade and Gaara's direction.

"This is Haruno Sakura," the Hokage began, directing her attention to Lupin and Baki, "who healed Kankuro after contracting an unknown poison when fighting against the Akatsuki. Since then she has continued to grow and improve in her medical practices to the point that I will soon have nothing else to teach her." She paused for a moment to allow the remark to sink in before continuing. "Would you accept her services as the Kazekage-sama's personal medical kunoichi?"

Baki's eyes widened at the offer and stared at Sakura for a long time. He turned to Lupin. "You are positive that this entire ordeal will last no more than ten minutes in our world?" Lupin nodded vigorously.

"And I will learn about how to make a Portkey so that you can return immediately to Suna upon our return," Kakashi added. "This way you will have been away from Suna for less than two hours, and you'll be very well paid for it."

"You can't think of agreeing to this!" Temari asked, astounded.

"It seems like a very safe bet, Temari," Gaara defended. "I'll have Kankuro and Sakura with me—"

"But what if something happens? If anyone should go it's me, because Kankuro is next in line if something happens to you—"

"You know that the elders won't want me," Kankuro chuckled. "They think I'm too rash and emotional to be the Kazekage. Plus, you are the oldest so it's even more your right."

"And it will be easier for Kankuro to guard me at the school anyway, since he can stay in the dormitory with me." Temari bit her lip, glanced at her companions, and caved in with a huff.

"Do anything stupid and you'll live to regret it," she mumbled. For good measure she punched Kankuro's arm forcefully.

"Excellent!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Remus Lupin, do you accept the services of Gaara, Kankuro, Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura to aid your people in the war?"

"Definitely," he said with a sigh. Finally they were making some progress!

"Though with the addition of two more people to your request, I'm sorry to say that it's going to cost you a little extra," the Hokage continued with a dangerous gleam in her eye. Lupin gulped and nodded vigorously.

"O-f course! I'll send the rest with everyone later." He should have known that the previous look in her eyes when she examined the gold would mean trouble!

"Perfect!" There was a definite smugness in the Hokage's voice. "Sakura—go prepare yourself for a long mission. Naruto will accompany you and give suggestions as to what you will need."

"Understood, shishou." As she left to carry out the order Naruto followed right behind her while exclaiming his wonderful happiness at going on a long mission with her.

"Kazekage-sama—I see that Kakashi already planned for you to accompany us," (she sent an amused glare in Kakashi's direction and the jounin looked back at her innocently) "though if there is anything else you require do not hesitate to tell us. Kankuro, I see that you have your puppets with you but if there is anything else you require Kakashi will find you what you need."

* * *

It wasn't until ten minutes had passed that everyone was ready, if you'd call it that. Each shinobi had a small bag they were able to sling over their shoulder and Lupin wondered if they would have enough. He had no idea how long the war would last or how long they would require their assistance, but he still felt as if they should have more supplies than that. But it wasn't his decision—they were supposed to be the experts, anyway.

As Lupin began the long incantation, he spared a moment to examine those accompanying him. Kakashi and Gaara looked rather calm, while Kankuro was a bit skeptical. Naruto and Sakura were chatting in hushed tones, and from what he could hear the girl was asking all sorts of questions that the boy was doing his best to answer. Those watching them looked rather anxious as well. Temari was gazing at her brothers in such a way that Lupin was reminded of Mrs. Weasley, Tsunade looked excited (though Lupin guessed it had to do with the extra payment she would receive), Baki and Shizune looked anxious, and Yamato watched them with a rather forlorn look. Lupin could tell the man would agree to come at a moment's notice if he could.

" _. . . salus quodi velocium!" _As soon as he released the spell Lupin experienced a significant drop of energy and he stumbled backwards from the strain. It seemed that transporting so many people across the dimensions would take a greater toll on his body than he thought. Someone grasped his shoulders and helped keep him upright, which Remus was grateful for.

The onlookers watched in fascination as the group of six started to fade as purple electricity pulsated all around them, finally disappearing with a quiet _pop!_

* * *

**So what do you think? (That took a long time to write!) I really just wanted the original three, but like others have pointed out, Gaara _is _the Kazekage so arrangements had to be made in order for him to be allowed to go. Plus, I think that I'm going to have a lot of fun inserting Kankuro and Sakura as well. The idea has really grown on me.**

**I hope that I did a decent job on the POV. If you could tell, I mainly wanted it to be from Lupin's POV, so if you felt a little lack as to how the shinobi were feeling you're correct. Rest assured that as soon as they enter the Wizarding world their thoughts will be addressed. And for a quick note—when I said romance will be in this story it's not going to be Harry/Gaara or Gaara/Sakura. I promise you that it will be obvious when it occurs. Well—maybe not _completely _obvious, but you'll know.**

GirlLoki: Well, I guess everything you asked has been answered. XD

Cana Hatake: Thank you! :) Kakashi is a lot of fun to write because that's just what his personality is like. And yeah, I felt like he wasn't really touched on in canon as a person who would have missed Jiraiya so I had to do something about that.

devi'ls angel: Glad you're enjoying it so far! There is a lot more where this comes from.

Anonymous: Gah! Curse you! I started reading FMA and now I'm hooked. I've finished and really like it! Reminds me of DGM. (My favorite homonculus is Envy -sniff-) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the ones I have planned for the future.

minirowan: Really? Well, thank you very much! Yeah, I think a fight between Tenzo and Remus wouldn't work but I agree that it would be an interesting battle. Maybe there will be a oneshot in the future, I dunno. Yep, the movie didn't do the book the justice it deserved, but there was a TON of material to work with, so I think the director did the best he could. The casting for Lavendar was PERFECT! I'm just really glad they're doing the seventh movie in two parts.

Sandsibs4eva: Cool name! (Personally, I think the Sand Sibs should have their own spinoff story) Anyway, thank you very much!

Octopus :D : Uh, I'm so sorry—there was too much to work with to post this next chapter so soon. I can get you some new pants though as an apology. XD Naruto and Gaara are totally awesome, I agree.

krazypuppy8: Thank you! Wow—all in one day? Kudos to you for being able to sit still for so long. I am so glad for the storymark feature they added to help with those longer stories 'cause I need 'em.

Nonangel: Thank you so much! It was very nice to come home after an 11hr workday to such a lovely review. :) Heh, isn't it fun to be reading when you should be studying? I always come to regret it later, but it's just too much fun. I hope this chapter answered all of your questions!

meh: Glad you liked the first chapter! I'm so sorry that it took a while for the next one, but there was a serious amount of planning that I hadn't anticipated that was required to get this one out. Hope you liked it though!

Octopus: Are you and Octopus :D the same person? How about Octopus123? Anyway, whoever you are—I'm so sorry! :( I know how impatient and infuriating it is to have to wait for chapters, but I promise that I did as much as I could to get it out to you in a timely fashion! As you can see this is a long chapter and there was a lot to work with. There were more issues to deal with than I thought, and I spent a good amount of time bouncing ideas off a few people. XD I hope this nice long chapter is enough to beg for your forgiveness. XD The others won't be as hard to deal with, I hope.


	3. Chapter 3: A Cheerful Reunion

**Hello again! I would like to thank everyone a second time for their kind words. I was surprised at the acceptance of my decision to split them up and add two more shinobi and I thank you all for being so understanding. I won't let you down! For reviews, I would like to thank:** Obiki Doragon, TheRoseandtheDagger, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, 2-10-11eyesFINGERStoes, kittycat5261, Lord Perle, KatonRyuuka, Moonfayth, actressforever, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Madeline Cullen, Maqus Zanin, AznPuffyHair, Shai Neko, actionliker, KakashiKrazed, The Great Rick, Orihime-San, Konerok Hadorak, Grogert331, Fury074, Megaolix, EdElricFan1001, Ice Vixen X, shapphire-fox, Mesonoxian, No Hugs Peach, Pissed Off Irish Chick, lounger, Uzumaki Naruko14, otakuzen, Aldor, The Great Daifuku, Silver Phoenix7, Aeir-Ravenia, AvatardsUnite MM, SumireMayonaka, Lupanari, Anonymous, Chindu Prince Of Darkness, minirowan, Minako Hozuki, kimcat, Anonymous, silverwind-39, Narilyte, Jumpingbeans480, Azalie-Kauriu (2), leighargeneau, angiesmile, frik1000, Lunatic Pandora1, sanmitamaya, romantiscue, Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chick, pamellka, aki6, Mafkeesje, RainbowTurkeyoftehDoom, Rinny12, Diamonds-r-4ever-so-am-I, midnightmich, Gaarasgirl1169, Angel, Namekazelil, hirochick, Sora Hoshi, quintupledots915, The Laughing Phoenix, GreenAwesomeness, gigi, XXxXXLuciXXxXX, foreverboundtopain, Monkey D Dragon, Eillipses, Butterfly-fighter, NinjaShives, SaphireShade, AustinUzumaki, darkemoperson, candyman123, Payce99, Eikyuu-Chan, yaoifangrl4ever, Hani-senpai, I RuleThisWorldSoGetYourOwn, MissOrange8587, kuaispeed, galactic commander neptune, kaillinne arami, Viridian (2), nayami-chan, GirlLoki, Octopus, kyra97, Omega Shinobi, The Silver Spork, ACYP, kittyore9, **and** Senzetzu!

**Holy freakin' crap guys! You're reviewing faster than I can dish out the chapters! I feel so horrible taking this amount of time because I want to repay you all for the wonderful reviews by updating quicker, but seeing as how I'm in college now and that doesn't really work I'll just have to settle for longer chapters as a thank you. :) I hope you don't mind. How can I get it across how incredibly grateful I am to you? THANKS!**

**My first week of this new college college semester has been such a blast (waaaaay better than last year) and I had a three-day weekend so I wanted to share the joy and happiness I've been having with all of you by updating! Hurray! :)**

* * *

"When will he get here? It's already been eight minutes! Do you think something went wrong?" Tonks was pacing in front of the kitchen sink, her hair alternating between colors so fast it was making everyone dizzy.

"I'm sure he's all right," Mrs. Weasley said, walking forward to place a comforting hand on the woman's shoulders. "We just need to—"

Suddenly a small speck of purple electricity appeared that swirled outward in a circular pattern. Soon it had reached the size of a large, purple cloud with crackling lightning erupting from its center. There was a bright flash of light, followed by a large group of people who fell from the cloud.

"Still not a pleasant trip," Kakashi sighed as he picked himself off the floor. He glanced down at Remus and offered a hand.

"Thanks." Lupin took a staggering step forward and would have fallen if it weren't for Kakashi.

"Did the spell really use that much energy?" the jounin asked in concern.

"Remus! Are you all right?" Kakashi turned to see a woman with bubble-gum pink hair come rushing towards them. She grasped Lupin's shoulders and helped him over to a chair on the right.

"I'm fine," Lupin sighed. "I guess I was already tired from my previous mission."

"You can go rest on the couch until you're rested enough to travel, Remus," Mrs. Weasley suggested. The wizard nodded and gestured to the shinobi, pointing to each in turn.

"This is Suna's Kazekage Gaara and his brother Kankuro, then Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura from Konoha." The other wizards blinked in surprise, having been so distracted by Remus' poor health to pay attention to the new arrivals. Their eyes widened as they took in their eccentric appearances, such as hair as unnatural as Tonk's, Kankuro's face paint, Naruto's whiskers, and Gaara's eyes. Not to mention their clothing.

Minerva frowned. "But why are there two extra? I don't mean to be rude, but we requested three shinobi. Is everything all right?"

Lupin opened his mouth to answer but Kakashi cut him off. "If I may Minerva, I can explain the situation so Remus may rest." The Headmistress nodded and Tonks helped guide Lupin to the couch in the other room.

"Mum! We're done with the presents!" a voice whined from upstairs.

"Thank you!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back. "Get your brothers and sister and then come down here with Harry and Hermione! There are some visitors here who'd like to see you." She smiled at the shinobi and walked towards the stairs.

There was a loud shuffling of feet and then the sound of a window opening. "Oi! Fred, George come inside! Mum wants you!" The pounding feet grew louder and then they could hear them coming down the stairs. The back door opened and the twins walked in, laughing about something.

"What is it, mum?" Fred asked.

"Something else we need to d—" George's mouth dropped open and he and his brother stared at the shinobi. It was then that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny arrived at the base of the stairs and they joined the twins in staring wide-eyed at the new arrivals. Most of them rubbed at their eyes as if they thought they were seeing things.

"You look like Voldemort just showed up at your doorstep," Kakashi said, breaking the silence.

"Blimey—look at you!" George whooped as he and his brother ran to the shinobis' side to glance them over.

"You sure have grown," Fred said.

"Though his sense in fashion hasn't," George teased as he tugged on Naruto's orange and black jacket.

"Hey!" Naruto slapped George's hand away but couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"And who might you be?" Fred asked, turning to Kankuro and Sakura. The two turned towards each other in confusion.

"_Watashi ha anata ga nani to itte iru ka rikai shi mase_."

"Oops! Forgot about that," Kakashi apologized. He whipped out his wand and held out his hands, asking for their Hitai-ate in their native tongue. Sakura quickly took hers off and presented it to Kakashi, while Kankuro did so grudgingly, having to take off his entire hat. Naruto smirked at his unkempt hair and Kankuro growled at him. He lifted a hand and to the wizards it appeared as if he was mimicking playing a piano, yet instead Naruto's feet were pulled out from underneath him. Now it was Kankuro's turn to laugh as Naruto started cursing at him in Japanese.

"That should do it," Kakashi said as he handed their items back. "Now you can speak both languages. Keep this on until you have the chance to learn English."

"You already know how to speak it?" Sakura asked, surprising herself as she spoke the new language so flawlessly.

"Kakashi teached me a lot!" Naruto boasted.

"_Taught_," Kakashi corrected.

"I studied it at night with a book I brought back with me," Gaara said.

"I'm Kankuro, Gaara's older brother," the brown-haired shinobi said, returning to the initial conversation. The wizards' noted that his voice had a slight drawl and it was deeper than normal like Kingsley's.

"Haruno Sakura!" the pink-haired girl introduced happily. "Konoha medic." Naruto leaned in to her and whispered something. "Sorry—Sakura Haruno."

"So . . . why are you guys here?" Harry said, speaking out for the first time. "Not that we're not thrilled to see you, but it seems very sudden."

"Did you find a way to cross over to our dimension or were you specifically asked to come here?" Hermione asked.

"They're here to protect the three of you while you go out doing whatever it is you need to do!" Mrs. Weasley said, unable to keep the anger at their decision out of her voice.

"What?!" Harry, Hermione, and Ron shouted in unison.

"Mrs. Weasley, we appreciate your concern—"

"There's too many people—"

"Come on, mum!"

"Quiet!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "I've been against you leaving ever since the beginning and this is the only way I will permit it. The five of them will be more than enough help and you could even accomplish your mission faster with them."

"If you would allow me, Molly," Kakashi interrupted, "but there have been some slight changes in the original plan—"

"_What?_" Mrs. Weasley's eyes were livid though Kakashi seemed unfazed. "You mean to tell me that—"

"Molly, calm down," Mr. Weasley said softly. He put his arms around her. "I'm sure that whatever this man has to say is in our best interests, and it already seems like he and Remus have discussed this so we can at least hear him out." Everyone waited with bated breath as Mrs. Weasley considered what her husband had said, glancing over the shinobi as she did so. Finally, she let out a defeated sigh and nodded.

"Excellent! Let's begin, shall we?" Kakashi said. "Where would you like us to go, Molly? I'm afraid it may take a while so we might as well be comfortable."

"I suppose right here is fine," she said. Mr. Weasley flicked his wand and conjured enough extra chairs for everyone to use. Most sat at the table while Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat in the extra chairs, with the boys looking mutinous and Hermione slightly worried. Ginny was looking back and forth between Harry and the shinobi as if she didn't know what to think, and the twins looked like they were completely enjoying themselves. Kingsley observed the shinobi with fascination while McGonagall looked skeptical. It was then that Tonks walked in.

"Oh, are we having a meeting?" she asked cheerfully.

"How is Remus doing?" Mrs. Weasley asked, pulling out the chair next to her for Tonks to sit.

"He fell asleep almost instantly," the woman smiled, though it looked strained. "I'm sorry for imposing on your hospitality Molly, but I'm afraid he's going to be out of it until tomorrow morning."

"The poor thing. Don't worry about it Tonks, you can stay here as long as you need." Once she sat down Kakashi began explaining how they figured it would be best if their services were split into three factions, that way their assistance would be utilized better.

"And Kankuro and Sakura have been brought along because it was the only way to bring Gaara," he explained.

"Why is that?" McGonagall asked. She turned to Gaara in confusion.

"It's because I'm the Kazekage," Gaara said simply.

"Kazekage?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Like the Hokage, yet for his village," Kakashi explained. "He's the leader."

"Of the whole village?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed in surprise. "But you're so young!"

"Hey, he's done a much better job than most!" Kankuro defended angrily. "His age has nothin' to do with it!" It was apparent to the wizards that he was touchy about the subject, but they didn't know the half of it. Ever since deferring the position to his younger brother, Kankuro had never once regretted his decision. He knew that his brother deserved it more than he did and that it never would have worked out for him anyway. What infuriated him was how everyone reacted to knowing that the Kazekage was a mere fifteen-year-old boy. They immediately thought him too naive and that he only got the position because his father was the previous leader, but they didn't know anything.

None of them were there in the beginning when Gaara fretted over every decision, constantly relying on Kankuro, Temari, and Baki's advice on what to do. The worry over making the smallest mistake that would prove his inability to lead showed a side of his brother that Kankuro had never seen before. Gaara was able to control his emotions when others were around but when they were alone it showed. It was distressing to see his brother so frazzled and the dormant, protective, brotherly side of him was let loose. Temari and Gaara even had to tell him to back off a few times when he told someone off for thinking less of Gaara.

After the Akatsuki attack things improved greatly, since most everyone was able to see just how capable he was of defending the village. It was a heavy price though, and Kankuro would never wish for it again. Why was it that the only way to gain most of their trust was by Gaara getting so hurt?

"_It's okay, Kankuro_," Gaara said quietly in Japanese. "_You will find that this woman is very protective and she means well. She's a very good mother_." Kankuro sighed and folded his arms.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's fine." Mrs. Weasley smiled. "I don't doubt his ability to lead." Kankuro didn't like that knowing smile she was giving him, like she knew exactly why Kankuro was so protective of Gaara; as if she found it cute. Kankuro hated it when women acted motherly to him. Temari was the only exception, but even then she didn't get too mushy. There was only one woman that Kankuro would ever allow to act like that towards him and his siblings and she was gone. She was dead thanks to that pathetic excuse for a man that he was ashamed to call father.

"So what is it that you two have to offer as guards for Gaara?" Kingsley asked. Kankuro found he liked the dark-skinned man. He had the definite build of a powerful shinobi and he looked like a leader. The small gold earring he wore intrigued him and Kankuro found himself considering wearing one in the future.

"Well, I'm his brother and deal with deadly poisons, man. I'm also one of the best puppetmasters in all of Suna," he said proudly. At the mention of "puppets" Ron was unable to hold back a smirk and Hermione kicked him for lack of tact.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Kankuro sneered, turning to the redhead. "All my puppets have hidden blades covered with poisons I've created!" He leaned towards Ron's directions and whispered, "The only difficult part is having to clean 'em all. Do you know how hard it is to wash off all the blood?" Most of the color drained from Ron's face. "I can introduce you to 'em later and we'll see just how 'funny' they are then, man."

"Kankuro," Gaara warned. As much as he knew that his brother was sensitive on the subject of his fighting styles, frightening one of their charges wasn't the way to go about it. A lot of the adults were looking at him a little differently now, with Mrs. Weasley sporting a mixture of disgust, fright, and worry.

"And I'm one of Konoha's best medics!" Sakura said quickly, trying to break up the tension. Trust a boy to go and mess everything up. "I'm here to make sure Gaara doesn't suffer any life-threatening injuries and I can extend my help to the students of Hogwarts."

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. She found it was a nice change to see a person from the other dimension that wasn't all about strength and bloodthirsty tendencies. She looked like a dependable and sweet girl. "It's a noble thing to be involved in such an essential and gentle profession."

"Gentle profession?" Naruto laughed. "Sakura's not gentle about anyth—" He was cut short by Sakura's fist colliding with the side of his head, knocking him over the chair. All the wizards stared in shock at Sakura who was seething at Naruto's crumpled form on the ground. Her eye twitched slightly but then she composed herself and gave them all an embarrassed smile.

"Moody much?" Ron whispered to Harry. Hermione kicked him again and could have sworn she saw the pink-haired girl send a murderous glare in Ron's direction. The young girl sighed and rubbed the side of her head in frustration. The newcomers had barely been there for an hour and already Ron had managed to infuriate them.

Meanwhile, McGonagall was looking at the two newest shinobi with skepticism. From her observations of the three other shinobi two years ago she knew that their society was vastly different from hers, but it still unnerved her that children so young had such a murderous take on things. She was wary of allowing the girl and boy into Hogwarts, but with Gaara there things might turn out all right. Having their anger trained on their enemies would be no problem, but just in case she would keep an eye on them in the meantime.

"So what do you think?" Kakashi continued, as if the previous exchanges were nothing short of ordinary. Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned towards each other and spoke in hushed tones.

"What do we do?" Hermione whispered. "It looks like it will be impossible to refuse!"

"At least it's only one person," Ron said. "Plus it's Naruto! He'll certainly make things interesting. What do you think, Harry?"

The boy in question bit his lip and glanced back at the shinobi. "I dunno," he said slowly, "it would be helpful to have one of them with us. We really don't know what we could run into or what it's going to be like . . . perhaps just having one will help."

"But Dumbledore didn't want anyone else to know, Harry!" Hermione protested. "It's going to be difficult to keep what we're doing a secret from Naruto. No one else can know!"

"I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't have minded," Ron mused. "Besides, we don't have to tell him until we set out anyway!" The three of them sat in silence for another moment before Harry sighed.

"It seems pretty good to us," he said, loud enough for the others to hear. Mrs. Weasley sighed happily while the rest of the adults smiled in relief.

"YEAH!" Naruto whooped, sticking his fist in the air. "This is gonna be awesome!"

"Enough chit-chat," Fred sighed in annoyance. "Tell us what you're been up to these past two years! Anything exciting?"

"Put that prank of yours to good use?" George winked at Naruto who grinned in response.

"You bet!"

Kakashi sighed. "He managed to use it on the entire chuunin support staff in one day."

"That was _you?!_" Sakura exclaimed, staring at Naruto in shock. "But I thought you were gone that day on a B-rank mission?"

"You didn't think it was him?" Kankuro said in mock astonishment. "Man, even _I _could've figured it out and I'm not even from your village!" Sakura clenched her fist angrily and Kakashi decided it was in everyone's best interests to step in.

"_I highly doubt that sending Kankuro through the walls of this fine house will be a smart idea_," Kakashi said. "_Do it when you won't damage our client's property, okay?_" Sakura glared at her former sensei but knew he was right. She would let that comment slide—for now. Instead she settled for a deathly glare that always sent Naruto running in the other direction, pleading for her forgiveness. Kankuro simply smirked and made a face.

"I get enough of that from Temari at home," he chuckled. "You don't scare me."

"So . . . anything exciting?" Fred reminded them, looking amused at the exchange.

"Nothing much," Naruto said as he rotated his shoulder muscles in an all too obvious display. "Unless you count my completion of an _Unranked_ Jutsu—I'd say not much," he said smugly, folding his arms.

"What's an unranked jutsu?" Ginny asked.

"Only the greatest thing ever!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's the highest rating a jutsu can get, and I was able to complete what the Fourth Hokage was unable to do! It's one of the deadliest jutsu around!" The adults chuckled at his enthusiasm, and McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley would have joined in if it wasn't about something so unsettling.

"And Kakashi can _create_ dimensions with his Sharingan now!" Naruto continued, pointing to his former sensei.

"Not create, Naruto," Kakashi corrected him. "I open a window into another dimension. And it's not like it's something I can do easily. I really would like to avoid it at all costs."

"It's still cool," Naruto muttered, then continued. "Sakura has become one of the greatest medical kunoichi ever!" The pink-haired girl blushed at the praise.

"Not as great as Tsunade-sama," she said modestly.

"You're still amazing!" Naruto said, unable to keep the blush off his face. "And you know about Gaara being the Kazekage and Kankuro . . ." Naruto scratched his head. "Have you done anything interesting since we last met?"

Kankuro grit his teeth. "Of course, idiot! I'm one of the head tacticians in Suna and I'm workin' on a new puppet which will be even deadlier than my previous ones, man!"

"What about you?" Gaara asked, turning the focus on the wizards.

Mr. Weasley sighed. "With Voldemort coming back to life not too many good things, I'm afraid."

"He laid low for a while as he gathered his old followers," Kingsley said. "It was brief though, much quicker than the last time. One of the biggest blows to our cause was when the dementors quickly switched and there was a mass breakout of former Death Eaters."

"It's been difficult for us," McGonagall added. "Especially with what happened a few months ago—" Her voice faltered and she was unable to speak anymore. The mood quickly grew solemn as everyone stared at something random with sadness. Only Kankuro and Sakura were left confused at the rapid change.

"Dumbledore-sama's death," Kakashi said quietly. All the wizards looked at the shinobi in surprise, who shrugged. "Remus told us."

"Then," Hermione began, "d-did he tell you about . . . about—"

"Sirius and Moody? Yeah," Kakashi said abruptly. There was an uncomfortable silence for a while and everyone struggled to find something to say.

"Not everything has been bad though!" Fred said quickly. "We were able to set up our own joke shop!"

"Yeah, you guys need to come! We'd love to get your opinion on some of them," George said as he winked at Naruto.

"You guys got a joke shop?" the blonde exclaimed. "I wouldn't miss it for anything!"

"And Bill and I will be married in a few days!" Fleur added, catching on. "You are all invited to ze wedding!"

"Merlin's beard I almost forgot!" Mrs. Weasley said frantically, standing up so fast she nearly knocked over her husband. She glanced at the clock. "Look at the time! It's nearly twelve in the morning and we have the Delacours coming tomorrow! Off to bed all of you!"

"But mum, they just got here!" Ron complained.

"We've got some—"

"—catching up to do!"

"I don't care—up to bed! Now!" The younger occupants groaned quietly but nonetheless did as they were told, waving good-night to the shinobi on their way up the stairs. Mrs. Weasley turned to the shinobi thoughtfully.

"Now . . . I don't really have much room for the five of you, this house is packed enough as it is—"

"No need, Molly," Kakashi said quickly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "We can sleep outside."

Mrs. Weasley looked startled at the abrupt request. "But . . . surely you can't—"

"We've been trained to be able to do this sort of thing, Mrs. Weasley," Sakura added kindly. "It really is no problem."

"But you're our guests!"

Naruto shook his head. "We are shinobi on a mission, willing to serve our clients." The blonde's mature and unexpected comment startled Mrs. Weasley and she finally relented.

"Well . . . if you insist."

"See you later, Molly, Arthur," McGonagall said as she stood up to leave. She and Kingsley said good-bye to everyone before going out the back door to disapparate.

"Now, Tonks, since you can't go home . . ."

"It's all right!" she said brightly. "There's enough room on the couch for me and Remus." It was obvious she wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"Perfect, well then I guess we'll all see each other in the morning!" Mrs. Weasley said before going up the stairs. Bill and Fleur followed her after wishing the shinobi good-night. Mr. Weasley stepped forward and shook Kakashi's hand.

"We really do appreciate your help," he said. "If you'll allow me I can show you the best place to stay. It would be safer for you to stay within the boundaries of the many protective spells we've had placed around our house. With dangerous times such as these it's best that we do what we can."

Soon enough the shinobi were spread out a few feet away from the back door. The weather was warm enough for them to require just a thin blanket and they placed their valuable weapons next to them.

"Should we set up a watch?" Sakura asked, propping herself up on her shoulder.

"I don't think it's that necessary," Kakashi said. "It seems like these protective charms are very effective and strong. If Death Eaters were able to find a way past them I'm certain the noise would be loud enough for us all to hear." He glanced over at Naruto's sprawled out form. "Most of us." Sakura smiled warmly before lying down and fell asleep immediately. Kakashi followed suit and soon it was only the two Suna shinobi who were awake.

"Go to sleep, Gaara," Kankuro yawned. "You know it won't do you any good." Gaara ignored his brother and stared at the stars with his hands resting behind his head. "Come on, man! You know I'm not as pushy as Temari but ya gotta sleep!" When Gaara still didn't respond Kankuro groaned dramatically and swore underneath his breath before making his way over.

"Look, I know you're scared but you gotta get past this!" Kankuro touched Gaara's shoulder gently, causing the redhead to finally glance over at him.

"I'm going to be fine, Kankuro! Don't you think that—" His eyes went wide and he stared at his older brother with shocked and betrayed eyes before falling into a deep sleep.

Kankuro smirked as he tossed a small vial into the air and caught it. "Temari would be so proud of me."

* * *

"Can you believe they're really here?" Ginny asked in amazement.

"It's great," George said. The six of them were currently in the room Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sharing. Hermione had cast _Muffliato_ on the door to make sure they weren't overheard.

"I still can't believe they would go so far as to risk sending someone over to another dimension," Hermione said, one leg drawn up on the bed. "They must really be worried."

"'Course they are!" Fred laughed. "It's what they do. I personally think that whatever it is you guys are going to do is spectacular."

"We'll be helping you guys out on the sidelines," George said, twirling a sock in midair with his wand.

"Got a few ideas we want to try out."

"They've grown a lot," Harry noted. "Gotten a lot taller."

"What do you think about those two new people, eh?" Ron said, leaning against a pillow. "Do you really think that bloke fights with _puppets?_"

"Well, you can't say that they aren't very peculiar people. I wouldn't put it past him to have some sort of ability we don't know about," Hermione said, thinking out loud. "Did you see how he made Naruto fall over with just moving his fingers like that?"

"Certainly looks like an interesting fellow."

"Would be a little easier to take him seriously if he didn't look so much like a cat," George chuckled. Hermione and Ginny groaned.

"How about you leave him alone?" the older girl sighed.

"It's very likely that he won't let you guys get away with anything without fighting back," Ginny warned. "And I don't think you'd want that to happen."

Fred looked appalled. "My dear sister—that's the whole point!"

"Where's the fun in provoking someone who won't fight back?"

Ginny shook her head. "You guys are hopeless."

"At any rate," Hermione said, glancing at her watch, "it's getting late. We really should be getting some rest." Everyone else begrudgingly agreed and went their separate ways, falling asleep the instant they lay down.

* * *

The next morning came all too early for everyone, though they didn't have time to feel sleepy as Mrs. Weasley put them all to work immediately to prepare for the Delacours' arrival. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were very grateful that the shinobi were there because it made things a lot easier on them. Mrs. Weasley had everyone help her prepare lunch, clean the kitchen, and various other odds and ends that hadn't been completed yet.

At eleven o'clock Mr. Weasley and Kakashi went to the top of a nearby hill where the Delacours would arrive by Portkey. Like the others, Kakashi had donned "regular" clothes, choosing to wear his jounin pants and a borrowed shirt and coat from Mr. Weasley.

"Tell me again why I have to dress like this?" Kankuro muttered as he waited for the arrival of Fleur's parents. All his face paint was removed and he was not wearing his hat. In order to speak, however, Kakashi cast the translation spell on a leather bracelet. When Ron came down for breakfast that morning and saw the shinobi, the redhead made a surprised remark that he looked a lot different without his makeup, throwing Kankuro into a rage. Gaara held him back, reminding him that he couldn't attack one of their charges and Kankuro relented.

It was Gaara who had suggested in the first place that Kankuro abandon his typical attire, on the basis that they needed to blend in with the wizards and not appear so threatening. While the puppetmaster unwillingly agreed that his brother had a point, he had a feeling that the suggestion was made partly in revenge for the stunt that he pulled against his younger brother the other night.

"You know the reasons, Kankuro," Gaara sighed as he folded his arms. "And everyone else is dressed this way so it's not just you." He and Naruto would have worn the same clothes they wore the previous time they were at Hogwarts, but they had grown so much that the clothes were useless.

"Just like Ron and Harry," Mrs. Weasley had said, clicking her tongue at their clothes. "Growing like mad."

For now they were wearing old clothes of Fred and George, who had left early that morning to take care of a few things in their shop. They promised to come the following day. Remus and Tonks left early as well, apologizing once again to Mrs. Weasley. They too would come later the next day.

"You got to keep your pants so stop complaining," Naruto said, his hands stuck in the pockets of the brown pants he had been given. He was able to keep the black shirt he wore underneath his orange jacket, but not much else. Apparently wizards liked bright colors like purple, blue, or green, but not orange. His necklace from Tsunade sparkled in the sunlight and Mrs. Weasley had been quite entranced by it.

"Here they come," Gaara said.

"Maman! Papa!" Fleur rushed past them in a flash of white-blonde hair and embraced a beautiful woman in long, leaf-green robes. Then she turned to a good-natured plump man with a pointed black beard and hugged him as well. Mr. Weasley and Kakashi were standing behind them, suitcases in hand.

Mr. Weasley let out a boisterous and high-pitched laugh while Kakashi rolled an eye, adjusting the large suitcase in his hand.

Fleur's father bounced towards Mrs. Weasley after embracing his daughter and kissed her twice on the cheek, leaving the redhead woman blushing.

"You 'ave been to much trouble preparing for ze wedding," he said in a deep voice. "Fleur tells us you 'ave been working very 'ard."

"Oh it's nothing, nothing!" trilled Mrs. Weasley. "No trouble at all!"

As Ron kicked a gnome Gaara turned to Kankuro with a confused expression. "Why are they acting like that? Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seem to be acting strange."

Kankuro laughed and shook his head at his younger brother's naivety. He slung an arm around Gaara and pulled him close. "Nah, they're perfectly all right. You'll understand when you're older."

"And 'oo might these fine young people be?" Madame Delacour asked, gesturing to the shinobi.

"We're friends from school," Sakura said quickly, stepping forward. "We volunteered to help out with the wedding."

"You are all so _charmante!_" Monsieur Delacour said, clapping his hands. "Eet ez an honor to 'ave such wonderful 'elpers!" He grasped Sakura's hands and kissed them, leaving her blushing.

"Such delightful children!" Madame Delacour said, leaning down to lightly peck all the boys on the cheek. The three boys accepted the kiss with grace while Kakashi silently chuckled at them in the background.

Soon enough the adults made their way inside, with the Delacours shouting praises and thanks for everything they saw. At dinnertime the young wizards and shinobi thought they would have a chance to chat, but that thought was quickly banished as Mrs. Weasley made her way over to them with a pile of laundry.

"I didn't know it was your birthday tomorrow, Harry?" Gaara said as Mrs. Weasley made her way back inside.

"Huh? Oh—yeah," Harry said. "It's not that big of a deal."

"I would say that coming of age is a big deal," Kakashi said. He was returning from feeding the chickens. "I wish we had something to give you."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about any of that!" Harry said quickly. "I really don't want a fuss."

"Nonsense." Kakashi brushed the request off with a wave of his hand. "Let me see . . . do you still have those necklaces we gave you?"

"Yeah!"

"They were a lot of help in the Department of Mysteries," Hermione said as she pulled out the trinket from underneath her shirt.

"Used up the last bit during the battle a few months ago though," Ron said sadly as he withdrew his as well.

"Tell you what," Kakashi said as he held out his hand. "While we're here we could refill them for you. I daresay they could become helpful in whatever it is you need to do."

"Really?"

"Sure!"

"Awesome!" Kakashi held out his hands and the three teens deposited the necklaces in his hand.

"I'll go see if Mrs. Weasley needs any more help and you'll get these tomorrow," Kakashi said as he pocketed the items, leaving the group of seven back to the laundry.

"Man, I can't wait until this wedding is over!" Ron complained a few minutes later as they set about hanging the damp clothes. "We've done nothing but work to death like house-elves!"

Naruto chuckled. "You wouldn't last through many D-rank missions then."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I seem to remember a certain genin complaining about every D-rank mission we went on and who never hesitated to rudely demand for another one!"

"That was then!" Naruto protested. "I'm much more mature now!"

Kankuro smirked. "Find that hard to believe."

"And what do you mean by that, huh?" Naruto said, rounding on Kankuro. "I wouldn't put it past you to have done the same! In fact—I'll bet you were _worse!_" He threw a wet towel at the Suna shinobi who jumped out of the way easily.

"You little punk!" Kankuro roared. The two glared at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Kankuro smirked. "You wanna fight? Lemme show you how much I've improved!" He made some complicated hand movements and two scrolls flew towards the group. The brown-haired shinobi caught them easily and laid them on the ground, unraveling them slightly. "Let's see how you hold up against Karasu and Kuroari!"

Naruto widened his stance and grinned manically. "My Rasengan will break all of your pansy puppets!" Harry and Ron looked back and forth between the two boys with excitement while Hermione stared in shock and worry. Sakura and Gaara shook their heads in exasperation.

"No fighting!" Sakura yelled as she slammed her fists into each of the boys' heads. The three wizards' mouths dropped open in absolute shock as Naruto and Kankuro were sent flying through the air, landing fifteen feet away. Sakura nodded at her handiwork before returning to the laundry.

"How did you bloody _do_ that?" Ron squeaked.

"Tsunade-sama taught me," Sakura said, placing a clothespin on a white bed sheet. "It's a very effective way of fighting."

"Are they all right?" Hermione asked, worry laced in her tones. Sakura laughed.

"Oh don't worry—I didn't do it nearly hard enough to hurt them too badly. I went easy on them because we still need to get this laundry done and we need all the help we can get."

"Remind me to never make you angry," Harry said weakly. Sakura winked at the two boys and soon Naruto and Kankuro made their way back over to the group in a much more subdued fashion.

The rest of the day wasn't as eventful, and that night everyone but Harry went to bed with happy thoughts. His scar was prickling and he couldn't shake off a very foreboding feeling. He tried to put it in the back of his mind and listened to Ron's quiet snoring for a while, reminding himself that come tomorrow morning he would be able to do magic all on his own. With that exciting prospect, Harry finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**So, what do you think? This chapter was harder to write than I originally thought because there were so many people to work with! Gah! Things will be a lot easier when I get to go back and forth between the three sides of the battle. And **Rinny12**, I hope that Kankuro sounded the way you wanted. I just couldn't use "jaa" or "jan" but I tried to imitate that way of talk. Hope it worked!**

Anonymous: Edward is an awesome guy, I've got to admit! :) Being so concerned about his brother makes it really sweet. Glad you liked the bit with Lupin and Akamaru--was a little worried it wouldn't be accepted. And I luv Kankuro! The poor guy needs more screentime. And those are good story suggestions--I will keep them in mind. Know that I can't really do anything until I'm done with this crossover because they take too much freakin' time! XD I will surely keep the suggestion in mind and try to figure out how to make it work. And I think I will watch the anime. I know that they come up with a different ending, but it might be interesting just to see Envy. XP

minirowan: Glad you liked that! :) Manipulative Kakashi is so much fun to write. I wanted Gaara to come along and Kakashi immediately volunteered to do the dirty work for me. No, Sasuke will not be involved--physically. XD Chew on that one for a while. Yeah, the two newbies are going to have a hard time adjusting to so much strange stuff, but I think with Gaara there they'll be able to keep up. Sakura is quite smart and from what I can tell, Kankuro is great at tactics and stuff so he'll be fine. And I agree, they're going to have to include some things from book six into the seventh movie (like mention about Stan Shunpike for a moment or something) because there will be enough time. If I ever write that oneshot I will definitely let you all know. ;)

RainbowTurkeyoftehDoom: First off, I've just got to mention how great of a name you've got there! So incredibly awesome. XD Long chapters rock! Fun to read and fun to write. It is sad that they have to split up, but now there's even more of the story to cover and I've always wanted to explore the other areas of the book. We don't get much insight into what they're doing, so I'm excited to delve into the realm of possibilities. And as for who dies and doesn't, I can't say because that would give things away! You'll just have to wait and see.

Angel: I agree that that event was probably the saddest in the book, but I can't say who dies and who doesn't. With the shinobi there some people will die and some won't, but you'll have to wait to find out. Sorry!

gigi: Really? Well, thank you! I'm trying to go back over the first couple chapters of NGoF and redo them so it flows better, but it seems I don't have too much to worry about. Thanks for reading!

AustinUzumaki: Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

nayami-chan: Well thank you very much! I'm so glad you are enjoying yourself so far. :) And that I'm helping you learn English. XD Sorry it's a bit of an inconvenience for ya. When you get an account be sure to let me know! I'll totally PM you back and forth.

GirlLoki: Don't worry, I won't! I totally luv Kankuro and he'll get the attention that he deserves. Potions will be fun for him. I like all the Sandsibs and I agree that he's quite muscular. Remember when Sakura healed him? :)

Octopus: You're welcome! I figured you were a little anxious there. XD Sakura needed to be in it because Baki and Temari weren't letting Gaara go without her, so I consented. I agree that Kankuro is going to be awesome. Naruto is definitely gonna get a big part, and as for the romance yeah I guess there will be a teeny bit between him and Sakura but considering that they are going to be working far apart from each other for most of it I don't think you need to worry too much. I do read my bloody feedback! XD As for the reviews, yeah I'm freakin' happy! I write this story because I enjoy it and I know other people do, and I never anticipated this kind of response! I'm sure you're a great writer--get an account and write something!

kyra97: Awww, well thank you so much! :) I'm just glad you're enjoying it. Awesome reviewers like you are what inspire me and keep me going!


	4. Chapter 4: 'Til Death Eaters Do We Part?

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews**: AyaseFanGirl, Obiki Doragon, Lord Rebecca-Sama, TheRoseandtheDagger, Megaolix, Namekazelil, Senzetzu, SumireMayonaka, NecrosChris, KatonRyuuka, Pissed Off Irish Chick, HoTaGaiNsTaWaLL, Mesonoxian, actionliker, JediBorme, Eikyuu the Jellykage, AznPuffyHair, Madeline Cullen, batmanfan0214, Lupanari, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Ice Vixen X, SaphireShade, Lord Perle, cardcaptor eternity, leighargeneau, frik1000, Jumpingbeans480, Lord Elric, actressforever, Anonymous (5), The Great Daifuku, leafgrl-88, Diamonds-r-4ever-so-am-I, Chindu Prince Of Darkness, silverwind-39, I bashed Voldie's head, Lunatic Pandora1, nayami-chan, Kuaispeed, kaillinne arami, lounger, romantiscue, kittyore9, yaoifangrl4ever, The Laughing Phoenix, Konerok Hadorak, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Orihime-San, candyman123, DarcSlayer (2), krazypuppy8, Wingdance, Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chick, Sakura, Rinny12, hirochick, Aeir-Ravenia, AvatardsUnite MM, CrazyGirlofManyNames, FallenAxel21, Aldor, Shai Neko, Gaarasgirl169, Kakashi-4-Ever-Together, Kakashi-4-Ever-Together, papercliped-angel, Ayane T'il Hime, foreverboundtopain, ArrangeloveMatch, Hani-senpai, Octopus, I RuleThisWorldSoGetYourOwn, Allistra, AustinUzumaki, pamellka, Elaendorlien, kyokoaurora, The Forsaken King, GirlLoki, Wanderer D, xStarlitShadows (3), I 3 U (2), Emi-hime, kakashiluver, Anyone But Sasuke, Starfire-chan521, wabiske (2), SHARPIE addict, DB, YojimboJango, SacredStoneFury, Kitsune Alchemist, Keiginya, secretdewdrop, Ribbonseal, Lilotea, ThheFabulousLMH, godlike-naruto, MadnessLover, mysteryP, Fantasy Dreamer1992, megan, xxMidnightLullabyxx, Soraya the All Speaker, NekoChi (2), REVOLUS, **and** Ivory Jade 6669!

**Okay, so as some people have reminded me, George's ear has been severed off. I would like to lie and say that I was planning on bringing that up in this chapter, but sadly I can't. I'm going to blame my custodial job—the chemical fumes were getting to me. XD Anyways, please accept my humblest apologies and let's move on shall we? It shall be addressed here in this chapter.**

**But before we do that, how about those lucky people who caught the special reviews? I honestly must have been pretty out of it, so I apologize for the delay.** Ice Vixen X** snagged the 100th review and wants something that shall be addressed later (don't wanna spoil it for you now),** silverwind-39 **got the 150th and wants Gaara to cheer up Naruto in a brotherly way (shall be addressed below), and** xStarlifShadows **got the 300th review and will get a Kakashi plushie!** Azalie-Kauriu **and** kailinne arami** still need to tell me what they want! **

* * *

**Okay, so I really want to apologize for taking so long to update. :( I know I said that I wanted to have the next chapter out by the end of October but too many things got in the way and I'm incredibly busy, so I'M SORRY! To make up for it I made this chapter _super_ awesome and long! (In order to get it out quickly this is unbeta-ed, so please forgive any mistakes and if you notice anything I won't be offended if you point it out) That being said though . . . I'm probably not going to update anything until after my finals are over in December. I feel horrible, but I need to put my studies first in my life or there will be serious consequences. Thanks for being so patient!**

* * *

The shinobi woke up earlier than most of the wizards and quickly set about helping a flustered Mrs. Weasley prepare breakfast. Harry and Ron were the last to come down. The shinobi waited patiently as everyone handed out their presents to Harry, who seemed rather touched by what he received as well as uncomfortable.

"Here are the necklaces," Kakashi said as he handed the three of them back to their respective owner.

"Thanks." As Harry put his around his neck he felt relieved at the familiarity of the energy resting against his skin. He had become rather accustomed to it over the past two years, it being strangely comforting. Not to mention the fact that the stored energy was a great asset during the incident in the Department of Mysteries. The necklaces had kept them going when their strength faltered and Ron's may have possibly saved his life.

For reasons unknown to them, it prevented the brain from doing whatever it would have done to him. As the tendrils lashed out and melded with Ron's skin the necklace vibrated and glowed before shooting a blue beam at the brain, eventually causing it to explode. Ron's necklace lost all the excess energy after that incident, but it was a fair trade since none of them knew what that brain could have done.

"This is from me," Naruto said sheepishly, handing over some kunai and shuriken. "If I had known I would have been able to get you something better."

Harry smiled. "That's fine—I really appreciate it."

Gaara quickly deposited something into Harry's hands, as if he were embarrassed by it. Harry brought the object up to his face and gasped. "Snuffles," Gaara mumbled. It was a beautifully made, black dog figurine that closely resembled Sirius in his Animagus form.

"H-how did you make it?"

A shrug. "I just used some strong minerals in the earth." He had used the past two years to perfect the skill. It was all part of one of Temari's ploys to get him to be accepted by the villagers. A few handmade toys to certain children now and then easily made him very popular amongst the youngest generation.

"It's beautiful," Harry said softly. "Thank you."

Sakura then stepped forward. "Well, I don't really know you all that well, but I figured you could use this on your trip." She held out a small, circular container. "It's an herbal salve that can help soothe the pain of injuries."

Harry beamed. "Yeah, this could really help. Thanks!"

Now it was Kankuro's turn. It was obvious he was quite excited to give his present. "This is some of my best poison, man! I made it myself, so there's little chance any of those Death Eater guys being able to cure it. You just gotta put the tip of a kunai in it and that's all you'll need to kill someone in less than three minutes. Oh, and you should have this," he said quickly, not noticing the blanched expression on Harry and Ron's faces, "some antidote in case you accidently get it on yourself!"

He laughed at the thought while Harry and Ron turned green. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was itching to say something but with great willpower held her tongue. It was all she could do to remind herself that the shinobi were brought up differently and that Kankuro's intentions were for their own good and survival. Hermione looked at Kankuro with the same, sad expression she had given the three shinobi during their fourth year. No matter how much she tried to convince herself there was nothing she could do, it still hurt her to know that there were children growing up in that kind of environment.

"Well, I'll uh . . . I'll pack these for you, Harry," Hermione said quickly. "I'm nearly done, just waiting for the rest of your underpants to come out of the wash, Ron—"

The redhead sputtered as Naruto and Kankuro howled with laughter. It was quickly interrupted by Ginny calling out for Harry to present _her _gift. As he followed the girl up the stairs, Kakashi turned to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"While we have faith in these protection charms that have been placed around your property," he began, "I think it would be in your best interest to let us set some traps to make sure."

Mrs. Weasley looked horrified at the suggestion. "B-but . . . what if an innocent person is caught—"

"We'll make sure these traps aren't fatal," Kakashi said quickly. "The intent is to capture or at least send warnings that someone is nearby."

"Sounds like an excellent idea," Mr. Weasley said. "Thank you very much." He then turned to his wife and argued the decision with her in silent whispers. The shinobi left quickly.

"Naruto and Gaara, you cover the west perimeter, Sakura the south, Kankuro the east, and I'll take care of the north," Kakashi instructed once they were outside. "Now remember, we run the risk of someone we'd rather not injure being caught so adjust your traps accordingly." The four nodded their assent and body-flickered to their respectable positions.

As they were setting traps, Gaara noticed that Naruto had his mind elsewhere. He kept looking up at the sky and sighing instead of tying the shinobi string to the appropriate places.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"Huh? Oh—nothing, nothing at all!" He grinned and focused his attention to the traps.

"I'm not stupid, Naruto. You can't lie to me." Gaara pulled the string out of Naruto's hands with his sand and folded his arms, waiting for the blonde to tell the truth.

Naruto chuckled. "Guess I wasn't able to fool you . . . I miss Jiraiya." His voice broke and a few tears flowed down his face. Naruto hastily wiped them away and stared at his hands. "I've been able to come to terms with his death and I'm going to avenge him once I met Pein . . . but it still hurts."

Gaara nodded and put a hand over his chest. "It hurts here, right? Because you loved him."

"Yeah. But I'm a shinobi and should put him out of my mind," Naruto said angrily. "I'm going to be protecting Harry, Ron, and Hermione so I need to be completely focused on this task. I don't want anything to happen to anyone that I am in charge of."

"That doesn't mean you can't still care for him though." Gaara locked eyes with Naruto. "I . . . may not know as much as you do about these kinds of things," (Gaara averted his eyes sheepishly before looking back up at Naruto) "but what I do know is that you are the most caring person I've met . . . and if you tried to ignore your feelings for Jiraiya . . . then you just wouldn't be Naruto. Not the one that I know."

Naruto was astonished. Of all the people he would have thought to help set him right—he never would have thought it would be _Gaara!_ The genin felt an unusual amount of pride at seeing how much Gaara had grown. "Thanks, Gaara—you're right! I feel a lot better now!"

A small, relieved smile graced Gaara's lips. He hadn't known if his words would mean anything to the blonde, but after all that Naruto had done for him he wanted to try and return the favor. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and put his arms around Naruto before letting go quickly as if the action burned him. The redhead still wasn't good with hugs and he would have rather not done so, but Naruto was a "touchy-feely" sort of guy and Gaara knew he needed it.

It appeared that Naruto was as surprised by his actions as Gaara was. "Thanks, Gaara," he chuckled. They resumed making the traps.

* * *

As night rolled around it was time for Harry's party. With so many people coming, they had decided to move it out to the backyard. Everyone who said they would come did.

"By the way, George," Naruto said as he watched the twins bewitch purple lanterns to levitate around the table, "what happened to your ear? I didn't want to be rude, but . . . "

The one-eared twin laughed and clapped Naruto on the back. "No need to be worried, m'boy! This hole 'tis a mark of bravery! I was lucky to escape with my life after facing the notorious King of Slime himself—Snape!" Naruto's eyes darkened.

"Snape did that to you?" Gaara asked. "How?"

"It happened when we were bringing Harry from his muggle house to a safe place to confuse the Death Eaters," Fred cut in. As he and his brother eagerly explained what happened, Kakashi couldn't help but notice Fred's slightly stiff behavior.

Rather difficult to decipher, but Kakashi could tell by the taut smile and minor narrowing of the eyes that George's injury hurt Fred deeply. It wasn't like the jounin could blame him though; being a twin established a very special and unique bond. He had seen firsthand of the horror and pain that losing one's twin did to a person. The mission in question had been a dangerous one and the surviving brother was never the same since. Ibiki tried his best with the young boy but the grief was so powerful he was later declared mentally unfit to be a shinobi anymore.

"Out of the way, out of the way!" sang Mrs. Weasley, interrupting his thoughts. Everyone marveled at the size of the round, golden cake that she levitated across the lawn.

As everyone happily conversed with one another, Sakura and Kankuro unconsciously moved closer together. All the wizards seemed very kind and were more than willing to accept the two of them without question, but it still left them with an uncomfortable feeling. It was rather alarming to be suddenly thrust into a large crowd of people they didn't know, as well as being in a type of culture they never would have imagined existed.

All the levitating and transforming objects without warning left Sakura feeling skittish. She found it difficult to get used to people waving sticks around and having unnatural things occur. Kankuro simply found the entire concept disconcerting. It just wasn't _right_ that these things could happen. It went against everything he knew for a broken glass bowl to just . . . just put itself back together! Did these people not understand just how _wrong_ it was for these things to be possible?

The brown-haired girl made her way over to them. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Kankuro just shrugged while Sakura laughed nervously. "This really is a lovely party," Sakura said. "I guess this all takes some getting used to though."

Hermione nodded. "I suppose it must be quite a shock to what you're used to. I've heard a lot about your world from Naruto and Gaara."

"What was that thing everyone was mentionin' earlier," Kankuro asked. "Something 'bout a Stinch?"

"A Snitch," Hermione corrected, though not unkindly. "It's from a wizard game called Quidditch."

"What kind of game?" the Suna boy asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you would enjoy it," Hermione said, sighing in spite of herself. "All the boys do. You should probably talk to Harry or Ron about it, they know more than I do."

"What sort of things do you like to do, Hermione?" Sakura asked.

"Mainly study; I feel a well-educated mind is a quality endeavor." Hermione nudged her head in Harry and Ron's direction. "Though over the years I've learned my other hobby is to keep those two out of trouble."

Sakura laughed. "Sounds like what I do."

"I think we'd better start without Arthur," Mrs. Weasley said loudly. For the past ten minutes she had been repeatedly glancing at the gate. "He must have been held up at—oh!" A streak of light came flying across the yard and onto the table. It then transformed into a bright, silvery weasel that stood on its hind legs and spoke with Mr. Weasley's voice.

"_Minister of Magic coming with me_."

Everyone gasped with astonishment at when had occurred and they stared at the dissolving form in fascination.

"We shouldn't be here," Lupin said quickly. "Harry—I'm sorry—I'll explain another time—" As he grabbed Tonk's hand and ran towards the fence Kakashi turned to the other shinobi.

"It probably would be best if we were out of sight," he said. With a single nod all the shinobi body-flickered out of the way, startling all those who had never seen them do so before.

"How is zat possible?" Mr. Delacour wondered aloud.

The shinobi watched from a distance as the Minister made small talk before walking into the Weasley home with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were all concealed within the trees.

"What do you suppose he wants?" Naruto asked.

"It can't be good, whatever it is," Sakura said. She had no idea what a Minister was, but the man gave off a bad feeling she couldn't shake.

"He can't be any worse than Fudge," Naruto said darkly. Gaara nodded his assent.

Kankuro grinned. "Should we find out?"

Kakashi spent a few seconds thinking. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Naruto—you're with me. The rest of you stay here and make sure nothing happens to everyone else."

The two shinobi silently stood hidden near the windows of the living room, observing the discussion between the three young wizards and the Minister. It was mildly intriguing, since it appeared that Dumbledore had left the three of them items in his will. Only when Scrimgeour got to the _fourth_ item did the shinobi find anything worthy in the conversation.

" . . . he killed Mad-Eye Moody, but there's been no word about any of that from the Ministry, has there? And you still expect us to cooperate with you!"

"You go too far!" shouted Scrimgeour, standing up as his hand moved towards his wand. Harry, Hermione, and Ron stood up too, mimicking his moments. Seeing them act so defensively seemed to remind Scrimgeour of his place. He coughed and quickly pocketed his wand. "Now there is one final item," he said, returning to the parchment.

"_To Naruto Uzumaki,_" (Kakashi and Naruto turned to each other in disbelief)_ "I leave my watch, in the hope that he uses it to stay on time and know where he stands." _The Minister then pulled out a large, golden watch. "It is then mentioned that this should be given to Mr. Potter because he knows how to contact Mr. Uzumaki." Harry held out a hand but the Minister didn't move.

"I am curious as to why Dumbledore is giving away such a rare and valuable artifact that he himself made to a boy who was never properly enrolled in Hogwarts and was only seen for a mere nine months out of a year—and hasn't been seen since." There was a pause as Scrimgeour scrutinized each of the wizard's faces. "Why is he giving away something to someone that the Ministry has been unable to track?"

"Maybe he keeps getting lost and needs the watch?" Harry said bitterly, still holding out his hand. "That's what it says so I would appreciate it if you would do what is laid out in the will."

The Minister looked like he had enough. "You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned some respect!"

"It's time you earned it," said Harry.

Kakashi and Naruto watched as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sprinted to the house, eventually arriving in the living room where Scrimgeour appeared embarrassed once again. As he argued one last time with the wizards, the two shinobi mulled over the new predicament.

"Why would Dumbledore include me in his will?" Naruto asked, scratching his head in puzzlement. "How could he tell that I would be here anyway?" Kakashi was at a loss.

"It seems the only explanation is that he somehow—in some way—knew that circumstances would be as they were and that the others would request our help."

"But why me? Why did he give me a watch?"

"That I do not know. It's—" Both fell silent as Scrimgeour rushed out of the house to where he could Disapparate safely and disappeared. Seconds later those who were in the house returned to the party while Kakashi and Naruto followed suit.

"Of all the things to give us, yours is the strangest," Ron said as he examined the watch. "What would you need with a watch anyway?"

"I don't know, but I can't even tell the time with this thing!" Naruto said in frustration. "It has twelve hands and no numbers!"

"The planets are very beautiful, though," Sakura observed as the tiny orbs reflected in her eyes.

"Well, whatever they are, Dumbledore gave them to us, so they must have some purpose," Harry said.

"What I can't get over is how Dumbledore knew to put you in his will, Naruto," Fred said as he lightly tapped the watch.

"Just when you think you understand the man, he goes and pulls something like this." A wry smile tugged at the corners of Mrs. Weasley's mouth.

"Don' think we're meant ter ever know tha', Molly," Hagrid chortled.

By now everyone had spent ten minutes examining the strange objects and Mrs. Weasley was starting to become apprehensive. She announced it was getting late and they quickly sang Happy Birthday and ate some cake before departing their separate ways.

Kakashi watched as Harry tried to discreetly tell Ron and Hermione that they needed to talk. He knew it had something to do with whatever Dumbledore wanted. They still were not privileged to that information, and it was rather bothersome. As much as he prided himself on being a patient shinobi, he rather hated not knowing something.

He had half a mind to eavesdrop on their conversation but he knew that he would only become more confused at this point. In order to fully understand it he would have to hear it from the beginning.

"Naruto." The blonde looked up from his millionth inspection of the watch. "Tomorrow, after the wedding, you need to find out about what Harry and his friends are up to."

"They know I'm just going to report back to you." Naruto put the watch away and lay against his pillow. "They won't tell me until we're gone, you know that."

"Find some way to convince them then, because there's a chance we can help while we're on our respective missions."

"It wouldn't hurt to try," Sakura said.

"Yeah, and if all else fails, you could bug 'em to death until they tell ya!" Kankuro suggested. "Oh wait, you do that naturally." Naruto glared at Kankuro but the effect was lost on him.

Gaara sighed in annoyance. "Shut up and go to sleep."

"Oooo!" Kankuro propped himself on his elbow to stare at his brother better. "Is Gaara tryin' to sleep? _Willingly?_ Man, I gotta see this!" Gaara narrowed his eyes and before Kankuro could say anything more he was lifted by his ankles into the air and tossed a few feet from where the shinobi were sleeping. The brown-haired shinobi was able to land on his feet, but as he walked back over to his sleeping bag he was muttering curses and suggestions as to what Gaara should learn to do with his sand.

"I think Gaara's right," Kakashi said, not even bothering to hide his amusement. "We need our rest for the wedding tomorrow. We'll talk tactics in the morning."

* * *

By three o'clock the next afternoon everything and everyone was ready. All the shinobi plus Harry had taken measures to change their appearance. Harry's reason was a given, and the shinobi did not want to draw unnecessary attention to themselves. There was a chance that one of the guests could be reporting to Voldemort and they wanted their arrival in the Wizarding world to remain a secret as long as possible.

Kakashi was the one who had changed the most. His hair was a dead giveaway, and rather than deal with questions about his scar he opted to do a complete henge. Today he was Obito, having chosen to revert back to the henge he used when hanging out with Sirius in Hogsmeade. Kankuro simply laid off the face paint while Sakura changed her pink hair to an auburn color. Apparently more and more people were changing their natural hair color to vibrant colors nowadays, but Kakashi figured it was best that they make it harder for an onlooker to pick her out from a crowd.

Naruto had no need for a henge because Ginny and Hermione covered up his whisker marks with make-up and Mrs. Weasley used some special kind of hair gel to tame his hair. The two witches also covered up Gaara's tattoo and tried their best to make the dark circles around his eyes less pronounced. While his hair was redder than any of the Weasley's, they figured that no one would question it among the throngs of other Weasleys that would be there.

As a final warning, Kakashi instructed the shinobi that they could _not—_under any circumstances—undo their henge when the guests were around. No matter what happened, they had to keep their appearance a secret.

"Oh, please," Naruto had complained. "This is a _wedding._ What could go wrong?"

Soon enough guests began arriving, and the shinobi felt rather intimidated by their odd choice in apparel. There were _birds_ fluttering around some of the witches hats! The three who already experienced a taste of wizard fashion were rather immune, but Kankuro and Sakura weren't.

"How long do we have to be here, exactly?" Kankuro whispered. He could handle dangers and murderous enemies, but all he had seen of these wizards so far was not his kind of thing. They used their "magic" for rather unnecessary tasks and he regarded them as weak and lazy. He wanted to see some action!

Despite the rather odd choice in fashion, Sakura was enjoying herself. She had never been to a wedding before (kunoichi lifestyle kind of did that to you) and there weren't many excuses to dress up. Hermione happened to have a spare red dress, having opted to wear the lilac one. It was form-fitting and had a low back with crisscrossing straps. Her hair was too short to do much with it, but she tucked back some of her hair with a red rose.

Naruto's face went beet red when he saw her for the first time and mumbled a compliment about how beautiful she was. Even Kankuro was unable to completely dismiss her, and chose instead to look out the window. Gaara simply nodded at her dress and said it looked nice.

For the males, the dress robes would have been hard to come by but Fred and George came to the rescue with four black extras. Some of them had to be hemmed, but Mrs. Weasley fixed that with a flick of her wand. They seemed to work very well, because there were quite a few girls glancing their way and giggling. Gaara looked rather confused while Kankuro and Naruto took it with pride, though the blonde calmed down after Sakura punched his shoulder.

"How are you, Remus and Tonks?" Kakashi said, bowing to each of them.

They each stared at Kakashi curiously, trying to distinguish him. "I'm sorry, do we . . . know you?"

"Today my name is Obito, though you know me by another undisclosed name." Remus looked confused for a few seconds until he understood.

"The shinobi," he whispered to Tonks.

"Oh! It's nice to see you again, Obito." The three of them walked towards the chairs.

"So, not on speaking terms with the Minister?" Kakashi asked quietly, pretending to be showing Remus the seating plans.

"They're being rather anti-werewolf at the moment, so we figured it wouldn't be good for us to be hanging around."

"I'm sorry about that," Kakashi said. It always distressed him to see prejudice, having been subjected to it growing up. Sadly though, it was one of those constants in life; no matter what dimension you were in.

Gaara had just finished escorting a young Weasley family to their seats with Kankuro when someone called out his name. He turned around and was unable to stop his jaw from dropping in surprise.

"L-Luna?" The young witch was wearing bright yellow robes along with a large sunflower in her hair. Gaara's throat closed up at the sight of her and he quickly swallowed, wondering if he was getting sick or something. But that was impossible! He never got sick.

"I had no idea you were going to be here!" she said happily. Her cheeks were flushed though she didn't appear to be out of breath. "Oh, is this your brother?" she asked, turning her attention to Kankuro. The two shinobi stared at her dumbfounded. _No one _had ever identified them as brothers at first glance before!

"How could you tell?" Gaara asked.

Luna shrugged. "You look like brothers." Kankuro felt a rush of gratitude and pride at the girl's words. He had no idea who she was, but her observation made him feel oddly proud. It appeared like they had come a long way in the past few years.

"My name is Kankuro," the older shinobi said, bowing at the waist.

"Luna Lovegood. Does this mean Naruto and Kakashi are here as well?" Luna asked.

Gaara nodded. "And a girl named Sakura."

"What brings you here this time?" The two shinobi shared a look, silently trying to figure out how much they could tell her.

"Well, my brother and I as well as Sakura are going to come to Hogwarts, but you need to keep this a secret until term starts, okay?" Gaara said.

"Oh, I can keep a secret," Luna said. She held out a finger. "I got bit by a gnome a few minutes ago, and I've been blessed with some Gernumbli magic." She said this so seriously Kankuro had no idea whether or not to believe her. It all sounded like gibberish to him, but this was another dimension so things were bound to be strange. His younger brother just smiled and nodded.

"Well, it looks like the wedding is about to start, so I'll see you afterwards," Luna said happily, bouncing away.

As Gaara followed her with his eyes, Kankuro observed his brother with a smirk. He had never thought he'd see the day, but there was no denying it. He poked his younger brother playfully. "I saw that."

Gaara blinked in confusion. "Saw what?"

"Awww, come on—you can't hide it from me!"

The Kazekage continued to stare at him bewildered. "Hide what from you?"

"Never mind, forget it." It was no fun teasing a person unless they reacted to it. His poor brother was oblivious to social matters as usual.

"Oi! You might want to sit down, you two!" George called, gesturing to the seats nearby. "Unless you want to be run over by the bride." The Suna brothers quickly took their seats and waited for the procession. They were in the second row behind the twins along with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Naruto, and Sakura. Kakashi was standing off to the side, appearing to admire the beauty of the decorations but those who knew him could tell he was scanning the crowd for potential threats. He made a mental check of all the kunai and shuriken hidden about his person, ready to use them at a moment's notice.

The marriage was a beautiful one, even the shinobi couldn't deny that. Fleur emitted a beautiful glow that encompassed all those near her, Bill's haggard scars seemed to disappear, and the golden bridesmaid dresses made the two girls look like angels. As the wizard up front spoke of their union, a few tears fell down Sakura's face. Naruto was rather alarmed at this but she assured him she was fine. After a quick survey of the crowd, Naruto figured that crying was what woman did at weddings. Only thing he wondered was, _why?_

" . . . then I declare you bonded for life."

The shinobi gasped in shock as many different things happened at once. Silver stars appeared out of nowhere and fell all over Bill and Fleur; golden balloons burst as exotic birds with tiny, golden bells flew out; their seats rose into the air after they stood up; the marquee transformed into a canopy supported by golden poles; a gleaming dance floor suddenly appeared beneath their feet; and white-clothed tables floated towards the ground along with their chairs as a band began to warm up.

None of the shinobi had seen anything so extravagant before. They merely stood in shock for a few seconds until Fred and George snapped them out of it.

"How 'bout a butterbeer to warm you up?" they chuckled in unison, gesturing to a nearby waiter. Naruto and Gaara eagerly snatched one off the tray while Sakura and Kankuro did so timidly.

"What's a butterbeer?" Sakura asked as she cautiously sniffed the liquid.

"Only the best thing ever!" Naruto proclaimed loudly. He gulped a sizeable amount and sighed in content. "You might want to watch your brother though," Naruto whispered, leaning towards Kankuro. "I think he likes it a little too much." Gaara merely grunted and drank his as well. Kankuro and Sakura glanced at each other and shrugged before sampling it.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Sakura said.

Kankuro smacked his lips. "Tastes a little like sake."

Gaara looked at him in surprise. "Temari would have a fit if she knew you tried sake."

"Oh please—it was just one night after an exhausting A-rank mission. I think I deserved it."

"Come on!" Ron said. "We need to find a table before they're all taken!" Ron lead the way through the empty dance floor. The only open one was near the end with Luna as the only occupant. "Mind if we join you?" Ron asked.

"Oh yes," she said happily. "Daddy's just gone to give Bill and Fleur our present."

"What is it, a lifetime's supply of Gurdyroots?" asked Ron. Hermione aimed a kick at him under the table but hit Harry instead. Naruto muffled his laughter at Harry's pained expression. Within minutes the band began to play, and Bill and Fleur started off the dance. The next two couples were Mr. Weasley with Madame Delacour, and Mrs. Weasley with Fleur's father.

"I like this song," Luna said, swaying to the music in her seat. A few seconds later she stood up and made her way towards the floor, but paused partway. She turned around and looked at Gaara. "Do you want to dance?" Gaara looked rather alarmed at the offer, but gave a curt nod in her direction. Kankuro jabbed his brother playfully in the stomach as he passed by but Gaara ignored him.

Naruto gulped and glanced at Sakura sheepishly. "D-do . . . do you want to dance, Sakura?" The kunoichi looked rather alarmed at his question, but she nodded. Trying to remember how the dance went two years ago, Naruto offered Sakura his arm and the two of them made their way to the dance floor.

"Wow, didn't know they were a couple," Ron teased. Harry laughed. Just then Krum sat down in Luna's vacant seat, causing Ron to tense up.

"Who is that man in the yellow?" the Quidditch player asked.

"That's Xenophilius Lovegood, he's the father of a friend of ours," Ron said stiffly. "Come and dance," he added abruptly to Hermione.

She looked taken back, but pleased too, and got up. They immediately vanished among the growing throng on the dance floor.

"Well, I dunno about you two, but I'm going to find a girl to dance with," Kankuro said with a smirk. He had been to a dance before on a scouting mission (purely for gathering information) and had rather enjoyed the experience. Things appeared to be slightly different here, but no worries. As he skimmed the crowd for a suitable dance partner, he nearly ran into Ginny.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kankuro," she said.

"You wanna dance?" A bit young for his tastes, but who cared?

She looked at him as if to confirm whether or not he was serious, then smiled when she saw he was. "Sure."

"That's a beautiful dress," Kankuro said once they started dancing. One of the best ways to charm a woman was to shower them with compliments.

"Thank you. And you look nice in your dress robes."

"Thanks. Not what I usually care to wear, but it's okay." Ginny laughed.

"I know what you mean."

Sakura looked around nervously. "Naruto—I don't know how to dance! I've never done it before."

"Just follow me and do what everyone else is doing!" Naruto said happily as the two of them swayed back and forth. "I'm not really that good at it either, but I think I did okay at the Yule Ball."

The kunoichi raised a dangerous eyebrow. "So you've already danced with someone?"

"Y-yeah, but it was just for the Hogwarts dance!" Naruto said quickly as Sakura started to glare at him. "I went with Ginny because there wasn't any other girl I really knew."

"Okay, then."

Gaara and Luna were dancing in relative silence. "So . . . what happened in the last two years?" Gaara asked.

"Quite a lot, actually. I joined 'Dumbledore's Army' and it was a lot of fun. Harry started the club to teach us how to duel and I made some new friends. Then we battled the Death Eaters last school year, and my father is working on duplicating Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. He found some excellent Wrackspurt siphons to use last week. What about you?"

Kakashi moved around the perimeter of the dance floor, perfectly intent to watch and observe. It looked like the twins were too preoccupied with dancing to try that trick on him again. _Or maybe they learned their lesson, _he thought with a smirk. No matter the reason, he was just overjoyed that he didn't have to dance. Thankfully the girls who saw him were too embarrassed to ask and he preferred it stay that way.

_Looks like you would have been really popular with the woman, Obito, _Kakashi thought sadly. _You wouldn't have any trouble with Rin once she grew out of that school-girl crush. _

"You there!" Kakashi frowned and turned towards the source of the noise, unsure if he was the one being addressed. "Yes, you! Now come over here quickly, I'm a hundred and seven and shouldn't be doing things on my own."

The jounin mentally swore. It was Aunt Muriel—the old woman he overheard the Weasley boys talking about. Just by her expression he could tell she was a cranky old hag who cared for no one but herself with a personal hobby of making people miserable. He smirked at the thought of her meeting up with Danzo. It was a match made in heaven.

"What are you smiling at? A man as old as you should have better manners." She narrowed her red-rimmed eyes at Kakashi disapprovingly. "If you were my child I'd bend you over my knee for being so disrespectful. And what's with that hairstyle? You look like you've used too much hair gel. The only thing men need to do with their hair is keep is short, not fix it up like some deranged pop star."

Kakashi resisted the urge to grimace. He had gotten so used to the expressional freedom that his mask provided that he was slipping up. As long as his eyes appeared neutral he had been able to make any face he wanted.

"What do you need, ma'am?" he said, bending at the waist.

"Now that's better. Get me some wine and escort me around the tables. I need to find someone worth talking to." Kakashi employed Obito's signature smile and handed her a glass of wine before offering his arm.

"And what's with that charming smile?" Muriel huffed as she latched onto Kakashi's arm. For someone so old she had quite a grip. It reminded the shinobi of a grindylow. "I'm an old woman and there's no need to try and win me over with your boy band looks. I'm not one of those shallow hussies who will hang on to your every word."

As they walked Kakashi prayed to every god he had ever heard of and some he didn't that she would find a place she wanted to sit. The urge to kill something was becoming too powerful.

Without warning Muriel let out a shrill cackle. "Rita Skeeter? Oh, I love her, always read her!" (Yet another reason to hate the old woman) "Bring me over there, boy." She gestured to a table off to their left and Kakashi quickly did as he was told. To his surprise Harry was seated at the table, apparently discussing something with an old man with cotton-white hair. "She's written a book about Dumbledore, you know!"

"Hello, Muriel," the man said weakly. "Yes, we were just discussing—"

"You there! Give me your chair, I'm a hundred and seven!" A rather unfortunate Weasley cousin jumped from his seat and Muriel plopped down on it with surprising ease. Grateful to finally leave, Kakashi threw Harry a pitying look before taking off.

Overall things were progressing smoothly without incident, and everyone was having a good time. By now most of the young shinobi and wizards decided to take a break from dancing and they sat around at tables strewn throughout the covered area.

That's when all hell broke loose.

* * *

A silver lynx suddenly appeared in the middle of the dance floor, and people immediately ceased what they were doing to stare at it. Everything was completely silent as it opened its mouth and spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming_."

The entire crowd was frozen for a moment as the warning sunk in. The shinobi were the first to snap out of it.

"Everybody get to safety!" Kakashi yelled, his hands already full of kunai and shuriken. A woman screamed and all the guests went crazy. They were running every which way, upturning tables and chairs in their dash to find loved ones. The air was full of people sobbing, yelling, or calling for the names of those they held dear.

Out of nowhere, cloaked and masked figured appeared, firing off curses the instant they arrived. The protective charms had been broken.

Kakashi threw a flurry of weapons at them, managing to hit two of them in the shoulder while the others blocked them with shield charms. He wasn't aiming to kill exactly, because such a thorough and rapid extermination of Death Eaters through non-magical means would surely alert Voldemort to their presence. The best strategy was to maim them enough that they gave up and left. He just hoped the others came to this conclusion.

The most important thing now was to get Harry and the others to safety. "Naruto!" The blonde whipped around. There was a young boy in his arms who was sobbing. "We need to get you to Harry!"

"But this kid can't find his parents!" Naruto argued, pulling the inconsolable boy closer. Kakashi quickly made a bunshin and it took the boy from Naruto's arms before running off.

"Let's go!"

Harry and Hermione were desperately trying to search for Ron amidst the chaos. They ducked to avoid spells that were whizzing about their heads. Hermione was half crying and all the noise was making it difficult for Harry to concentrate. Suddenly, Kakashi and Naruto appeared at their side.

"All four of you need to get out of here!" Kakashi yelled. He was partially distracted by a curse that came their way, but expertly deflected it with a shield charm.

"What about Ron?!" Harry shouted. As if on cue, Gaara appeared next to them with the boy, the two of them arriving in a swirl of sand.

"There! Now you need to get out of here!" Kakashi continued. "We'll hold them off!"

Hermione grabbed Ron's hand while Harry grabbed Naruto's. The blonde turned to Kakashi in protest, but the jounin shook his head. "Be safe." Then Hermione turned on the spot and they disappeared.

Gaara and Kakashi leapt out of the way as a magicked table came crashing down where they were mere seconds before. "Help the guests!" Kakashi ordered. Gaara nodded and took off. Two curses came flying at Kakashi and he flipped backwards in the air to avoid them. When he landed there were two Death Eaters gazing at him stupidly.

Kakashi crossed his arms in an 'X' shape with a kunai in one hand and his wand in the other. He then sent a feral grin their way that made them tremble like children.

They were in for it.

* * *

"_SHANNARO!_" As the blonde Death Eater soared through the air, his companion and even nearby fleeing guests turned around to look at Sakura. When they saw who had punched the man their mouths dropped open comically. There was no way that girl in the red dress could have done that! She was half his size!

Yet there was no denying it. Her arms and legs were thrust out in a combative stance and there was a mischievous smirk on her face that many onlookers had never seen on a girl before.

The second Death Eater grit his teeth before sending numerous nonverbal spells her way. She dodged them with the grace of an acrobat and landed on the canopy, actually hanging upside down. That seemed to push her opponent over the edge. He aimed his wand at the canopy and yelled, "_Incendio!_" Flames shot from his wand tip and they quickly enveloped the canopy. Sakura jumped to the ground and looked up at it in worry. She had to do something fast or else the entire canopy would fall on innocent people. If only she knew some water jutsu! Though, even if she did, it wouldn't do any good because the only liquids she could see were spilt butterbeer and wine.

"_Aguamenti!_" a chorus of voice shouted. A column of water soared over Sakura's head and quickly doused the flames. Sakura shook the water out of her hair and glanced behind her. Remus, Mr. Weasley, and Hagrid were standing there with their wands out. Hagrid's looked like a pink umbrella, though Sakura was impressed with the wise strategy. What better way to throw off an opponent than to disguise your weapon as a mundane object? Pink didn't seem to be his color though.

On instinct, Sakura dropped low to the ground as a spell barely grazed her head. Before she could turn around to attack, Mr. Weasley cast a spell in the Death Eater's direction and started chasing after him. Without give her a chance to voice her thanks there was a cry from some guests who had been detained by Death Eaters and she joined Hagrid in rushing towards them.

Kankuro was in a very good mood. He was finally getting some action! The moment Kakashi called out for everyone to get to safety Kankuro could feel the adrenaline pumping. He cracked his knuckles at the sight of the obvious intruders and immediately set to work.

A couple screamed in fright as the man next to them burst out of his clothes and transformed into a rather odd-looking wooden puppet. A boy with brown hair rushed past them and ran with the puppet, his hands moving in a complicated pattern. Kankuro knocked out the first Death Eater by simply ramming Karasu into him.

The next wizard was a little smarter and used some sort of spell to create a shield that Karasu simply bounced off of. He then aimed his wand at the puppet and yelled, "_Reducto!_" As the puppet shattered to pieces the Death Eater turned to Kankuro with a smug look.

Kankuro just shook his head. "Never battled a puppetmaster before, huh?" He curled his fingers in and lifted them into the air, causing all the individual pieces to rise up. The Death Eater stared in shock as the "broken" pieces unveiled a hidden blade, all of them directed at him. He didn't even have time to scream.

"Who's next?!" Kankuro yelled as Karasu reformed behind him, leaving trails of blood in the grass. Before he could say anything else something hit him in the back and he crumpled to the ground.

"_Kankuro!_" Gaara had just finished helping the last family find each other when he turned around at his brother's yell. There was a Death Eater behind him and he waved his wand at Kankuro's back. Whatever the spell was, it was nonverbal so Kankuro had no warning as it came barreling towards him.

Gaara felt uncontrollable anger as the Death Eater walked up to his unconscious brother and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Gaara's sand started moving on its own, but without warning his face was splashed with water and the half-soggy sand fell to the ground. He blinked the water droplets out of his eyes and saw Kakashi standing in front of him with the offending Death Eater in his hands. Dead.

"Why did you do that?" Gaara asked angrily. Kakashi narrowed his eyes and tossed the body to the ground.

"Your sand is a dead give-away to who you are."

"So what? Kankuro was—"

"Kankuro is fine," Kakashi said firmly. "He's still breathing and he doesn't seem to be in that much pain. Most likely the Death Eater wanted to capture him for his unique abilities."

"But I—"

Kakashi's gaze softened and he placed his hands on Gaara's shoulders. "I know you're concerned, but you need to look at the big picture. If you let the Death Eaters know that we're back now then they can prepare for your arrival at Hogwarts, creating problems for our mission and the students there."

"But they're going to know after the first day!"

"Yes, but the less time we give them to prepare, the greater advantage there is for us. I don't know how long Hogwarts will stand against Voldemort's influences, but it will be a lot safer if we can get you three in there first." Kakashi then turned to the corpse beside him and sighed.

"I would have rather not have killed him, but since he saw you use your sand there was no choice." Gaara brushed past Kakashi and ran to his brother's side. He put a finger next to Kankuro's neck and noted with relief that he was, in fact, breathing normally.

While he didn't necessarily prefer it, a bloody wound was something much easier to handle because one could visibly approximate the extent of the wound. With a wizard's spell, however; it could be near impossible to tell at a glance.

"Looks like they've left," Kakashi sighed in relief. He walked over to the two boys and effortlessly lifted Kankuro up in his arms.

"Do you think he's Stunned?" Gaara asked. Kakashi shook his head.

"I tried _Ennuverate_, but it didn't work. We'll have to see what Molly thinks."

* * *

Everyone who was left gathered near the back door. Mrs. Weasley had gathered some repaired tables and chairs which were being used as a makeshift medical station. Ginny and Gabrielle were running around with water and towels, rushing back and forth out of the house.

Those who were injured were sitting in the chairs, either being tended to or waiting to be. Tonks was holding a bloodied towel against the side of Remus' head; Mr. and Mrs. Delacour just held hands as they stared at the ground in shock; Bill and Fleur were cleaning cuts all over the twins' arms; and Sakura tended to Mr. Weasley as Mrs. Weasley stood by in worry. Sakura held her hands over his wrist which was covered in green, healing chakra. Mr. Weasley's face was drained of all color.

"I've been able to set the bones right," Sakura said as she reached for some bandages, "so your wrist should heal properly in a few days. All you need to do now is make sure you don't agitate it."

Mrs. Weasley kissed the top of her husband's head. "Thank you, Sakura. It sure is a blessing you are here." The kunoichi smiled warmly and finished wrapping the arm before making a sling.

"Here is some medicine that will numb the pain." She handed a small container to Molly. "Take them twice a day at meals."

When Sakura picked up her supplies so she could move on to her next patient, she gasped upon noticing Kankuro.

"What happened?" she asked. The medical kunoichi quickly made room on top of the table and Kakashi laid the boy down.

"Merlin's beard, is he alive?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking over Kankuro fearfully.

"Hit by some sort of non-verbal spell," the jounin explained. "It wasn't S_tupefy_ and he seems fine to me but he won't wake up."

"His vitals seem to be fine," Sakura muttered. "Heartbeat is lower than usual, though not enough to be alarming . . . it looks like everything is running slower than it should be for someone who is unconscious but it doesn't look like he's in any danger . . . "

Mrs. Weasley touched Sakura's shoulder. "I think I may be able to help here. How about you go tend to Remus?" Sakura nodded and walked over to the wizard in question.

Molly flashed them a strained smile and ran her wand slowly over Kankuro's body, muttering words that made no sense to the two shinobi. "Is there anything else you can tell me about what happened?"

"We think they were trying to take him for his abilities," Kakashi said. Gaara could only stare at his brother in worry.

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips together and lifted her wand from Kankuro's body. "My guess is that they were just using a spell to make him worthy to travel. Using a Stunning spell could cause some shock to the system, so they may have used a modified version of _Stupefy_ that simply slows bodily functions. He'll most likely wake within the next ten minutes."

"You're sure?" Gaara asked, his throat rather dry. Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly and nodded.

"Your brother will be fine."

"Jus' finished writing a letter ter Minerva," Hagrid announced, coming out the back door. There was a small cut above his eye but other than that he was unscathed. "She'll let the other Order members know what happened."

"Thank you, Hagrid."

"Miss Muriel is asleep!" Luna said happily, skipping out the door behind Hagrid. "I told her all about how to use Yartz juice on her skin to keep it healthy."

"Just what we need," George muttered.

"Aunt Muriel to live longer," Fred finished.

Bill whacked his brothers on the head, being the only one to hear them besides the shinobi.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, walking back to her husband's side. "Where is your father?"

"Oh, he's gone back to our house to make some infusion of Gurdyroots for everyone," Luna said as she walked over to Gaara. "It's great for calming your nerves."

"Very kind of yer ol' man," Hagrid said, beaming at the thought. Those who had tasted Hagrid's cooking before let out a little sigh, knowing that the two men's definition of "cooking" were rather similar.

"Is your brother all right?" Luna asked, inspecting Kankuro as if he were a fascinating science project.

"Mrs. Weasley says he'll wake up in a few minutes."

"Well, that's good," she smiled. "I wouldn't want to see you sad." Gaara returned the smile, though it was still forced.

"Where did Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Naruto go?" Remus asked. His head was wrapped in bandages and Tonks sat beside him with her hand in his.

"I don't know exactly," Kakashi began, "but the important thing is that they are safe and the Death Eaters were unable to find them."

"I think it would be best to discuss this inside," Mrs. Weasley said, glancing around nervously. Everyone agreed and they slowly made their way into the house, barely able to fit.

"They're most likely at Grimmauld Place," Mr. Weasley said, once they were all settled.

"But with Snape knowing how to get in don't you think that's dangerous?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"We've put up jinxes against him," he explained, "and even so, Harry is the rightful owner now. It's most likely the first place they thought of. I should probably send a message to let them know we're fine."

Mr. Weasley flourished his wand with his good arm. "_Expecto Patronum!_" The silver weasel came to life and turned to Arthur as if waiting for instruction. "Family safe, do not reply. We are being watched," he said forcefully. "Go to Grimmauld Place Number 12," he instructed. The weasel nodded before disappearing into a silvery mist.

"Being watched?" Tonks asked.

"It's best they don't draw attention to themselves," Mr. Weasley explained. "And it's bound to happen anyway. Even though the Death Eaters have been beaten for now, they'll be back for sure."

Everyone was silent as they finally allowed the news to sink in. The only noise that could be heard was Kankuro's deep breathing and the soft _tick-tock_ of one of the Weasley's clocks.

"I can't believe it's actually happened," Bill said slowly.

"We all knew this day would come," Remus said.

"Pity it had ter happen on yer wedding day."

Fleur wrapped her hand in Bill's. "We 'ad fun while it lasted. It was a very beautiful wedding, after all. We appreciate all zat you 'ave done for us."

"We're just glad no one was seriously injured," Bill said.

"Still, things are going to be a lot more difficult now." They resumed their solemn silence, each wrapped in their own thoughts.

The war had reached an all new peak.

* * *

**Phew! Man, there was a lot happening in this chapter. But now that they are starting to separate things will be a lot easier to control. The chapters will go back and forth between the three different viewpoints, though it can be split it half or three-ways sometimes. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! (What do you think of the chapter heading, huh? I must admit I am quite proud of it)**

**My biggest problem was hitting that block about what item Naruto should receive from Dumbledore. I was merely reading through the chapter and trying to figure out how to shorten that whole scene because I wanted the shinobi to see it but not spend forever re-typing it, and then I had a glorious revelation! Have Dumbledore give _Naruto_ something in the will! It was sheer genius and I just had to include it, but then I had to step back and plan out what exactly it had to be, and how in the world I was going to include it in the story. I tried to come up with my own item, but that didn't work. Then I figured—Ron got the Deluminator that was introduced in the first book, and these are all objects that Dumbledore (in a way) owned, so what else did he own that was introduced in the books? His watch of course! :) 'Course that meant I had to figure out how to make it work, but it all came together in the end.**

* * *

Anonymous reviewers reply time!

Anonymous: Before I reply I feel like I gotta apologize to you the most. I am so sorry for taking such a freakin' long time to update, and causing you to sadly ask for an update all this time. I swear it wasn't done out of neglect--it's just that I have to focus on schoolwork, ya know? Believe me, I would rather spend time on this story. And there is a lot to include in this, because this is probably the most extensive work I've done. But thank you for all your kind words and I'm so glad that you are enjoying it so far!

Glad you liked the wizard's reactions! There were so many possibilities of how this could have gone, and I'm relieved to know that the one I chose was well received. As for the Horcruxes, I'm pretty sure Naruto would luv to tell Kakashi and the others about it since it's central to their mission, but as you can see with what happened in this chapter, he sort of ran out of time to do so. Darn those Death Eaters! XD Haha! The first time I saw Envy I thought that too, but at the same time I thought that he was really that pastor guy in disguise. "Cross-dressing palm tree" is probably the best description I've ever heard of him! And speaking in such a dignified in pompous way is quite fun, old bean. 0.o Okay, so I suck at it online but I've got a great accent in person!

nayami-chan: Good for you! I applaud you on your wonderful achievement! That was one of my favorite scenes too—poor Sakura and Gaara have to deal with hot-headed teammates, but that's why we luv them right? (And I feel sadistically happy to have made you crack up so, because that's happened to me a lot when reading other people's stories and I always get a weird look). You started a story? Well I shall be honored at being able to read it! :)

Kuaispeed: Thanks for the review! Eh, that's okay. Everyone has those days. You thought it was funny? Great! ^^; I just luv it when people think what I write is funny, because I never feel all that funny in real life. Awww, man! Your mom is limiting your computer time? That really sucks. That's what I luv about college—I set my own rules for me. (Sometimes I should really limit my computer time though ^^;)

krazypuppy8: Yeah, sorry 'bout that, but I'm glad it was worth it. College is gonna be killer this semester (and the next) but I am going to do my best to get updates as quickly as I can. I hope that there are enough changes that it's not like they were never there, but not too many changes because I honestly luv what JK Rowling did with the book. XD She's a genius.

Sakura: Awww, well I'm glad I didn't disappoint! :D Your review certainly put a smile on my face and I thank you.

minirowan: My—what a long review! XD S'okay, this just gives me a chance to write a long response! As for my wording I meant that Sasuke isn't going to be there, but it will affect Naruto emotionally at some points as he reflects back to it. (Go over some of the events that the trio went under, and you can get a basic idea of what I'm leaning towards here) Heh, yeah that does sound like something from a biology class! How's Voldy gonna deal with Naruto and Gaara? Well you'll just have to wait and see then! XD Sorry I can't be more specific than that, but do know that it will be revealed soon enough, and that you are quite on the right track there in your thinking, so great job! Ah, yes you are correct! I can't say much here because that would spoil it for some people, but I think I can do a little something like a bonding experience between them. If you can remember, I did do some foreshadowing to this topic in the last story. XD Do you remember where it was? It was brief, but there nonetheless. I can't wait until the movie! The only bad thing is that it's going to be broken up with about a year in between, so that's really gonna suck. Oh well! The battle had better be awesome!

Octopus: Don't worry about Sakura kissing anyone--but there will be kissing! XD And believe me when I say that you will never guess what's going to happen, and you're going to crack up at it! It's going to be awesome! Kankuro totally rocks, and glad you like my having Naruto go with the trio.

Allistra: Sequels are great! Thanks for the long review! Hurray! I'm glad that you felt the reactions from the adults were realistic, and Kankuro is awesome! Glad to see that I'm doing him justice because I think he's an awesome guy and not this idiot that everyone makes him out to be. Thanks again for the awesome review!

AustinUzumaki: Thanks for the review!

Elaendorlien: Well, thank you so much for the review!

GirlLoki: LIAR! XD Oh, and that is a DEFINITE awesome scene that I am quite tempted to put into the story. Thank you so much!

I 3 U: Thank you so much for the many reviews! :) A lot of great stuff is gonna happen, so stay tuned!

Emi-hime: Awww, well thank you so much! I'm glad that I'm doing a satisfactory job. Sorry this chapter took a little long in coming out, but I hope I didn't disappoint.

kakashiluver: Don't worry—there shall be a perfect amount of Kakashi in the story. :D He's gonna have a very . . . interesting part later on. I feel so horrible.

DB: Well thank you very much! I try my hardest to keep them in character. No, he's not going to have knowledge of interdimensional travel, because the only way Dumbledore knew it was because he was able to study Neville's cauldron. As cool as it would be to have Naruto hear music, I don't think there will be time for that since he's on the run and all, but it is a good idea. I'll see if I can make it fit later. Sorry to say that I have no idea what Resident Evil 5 is, but Voldemort is going to find out about the shinobi and adjust accordingly for some new "powers" I guess you could call it, and with Naruto and Harry being on the run together there will be some teamwork. And I guess your answer about black smoke was answered. XD Don't worry about the ending—I promise that it won't suck.

megan: Thanks! :) Glad you like it so far. This story is going to take a long time to finish though. Definitely more than the last one.

NekoChi: That's okay! I'm just glad to know that you like it so far. And thank you so much! I try hard to make it flow and stay IC. And of course Gaara would go! He's only my second favorite Naruto character! :) And I'm glad you approve of my decision to bring in other people. If I didn't then it would just be a repeat of the prequel, right?


	5. Chapter 5: A Rocky Start

**Hey guys! Sorry for the uber-long wait. My holidays were rather eventful and I got really sick towards the end. And then school started up, so you know how it is. It's here now though, so that's all that matters.**

**Just to let you all know, this is where things start to really differ from the book. Not that it's a bad thing, but just thought I'd let those of you who haven't read the book know. (btw, if you haven't read the book yet—READ IT! I'm practically begging you to. It's really awesome!)**

**Thank you **X-Whitemagic58-X, kuaispeed, Zsenzsen, Ultimate-Zelda-fan, Jumpingbeans480, Lord Rebecca-Sama, sanmitamaya, Starfire-chan521, Obiki Doragon, godlike-naruto, The RoseandtheDagger, pamellka, silverwind-39, NekoChi, Payce99, airnaruto45, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Lupanari, Elaienar, utena-Puchiko-nyu, KatonRyuuka, XXxXXLuciXXxXX, Lord Elric, Magus Zanin, lounger, Soraya the All Speaker, DarcSlayer, AyaseFanGirl, Chindu Prince of Darkness, KakashiKrazed, Anonymous (4), Mesonoxian, Moonfayth, The Laughing Phoenix, Namekazalil, Kuroda Asuka, arogus98, MadnessLover, Minirowan, actressforever, Ribbonseal, Ice Vixen X, Sumire Mayonaka, Namikaze naruko14, xStarlitShadows, frik1000, kaillinne arami, Grogert331, Taisi, The Silver Spork, graypheonix, romantiscue, hirochick, NWFiredragon, Lunatic Pandora1, Kisa, SaphireShade, foreverboundtopain, Oneblackened, candyman123, Hotaru Imai Sakura, MissOrange8587, SGWLESSIUT, Sandninjanaru, AustinUzumaki, Megaolix, Doll-Fin-Chick, Kaeim (4), jcbat21, NinjaShives, quintupledots915, Pretty-Dolly, AvatardsUnite MM, AznPuffyhair, Yumetaka, Kourui, Nemrut, Rinny12, Lazy she wolf, Crazy Hyper Lady, Raye of the Sunshine, Rakugosha, Orihime-San, Octopus :D (3), Nonangel, skipper 1337, Fantasyname, cherryblossom2revenger, sugarcrazedninja (4), NekoKriszty (4), wakeXupXfishy, bringapingu, Random reviewer (2), Mel, XspriteyX, kimcat, MichaelaTheUchiha, Sunao Kinokiita-tenshi, Taryn Streambattle, Hitokiri Shinzui, 7thtreasure (4), Little Kunai (4), AnimeFallingStar, Cyklos, MysticBlood, x Wacky Fairyx, The Giant Daifuku, BetahimeTsukiko, Crystal shadow7, MidniteCurse4Eternity (4), chickenbuttnarufan (2), swd, xcd, kakashifan27, Kale Henderson, Alicia, **and** Salior Emerald **for the reviews! :D Man, all you guys are so awesome! I totally don't feel worthy. **

**Request-wise, I give **AnimeFallingStar** some strawberry-chocolate truffles with a tiny ShikaTema moment in the future, **kaillinnearami** asked for a future event of Gaara, Kankuro, and Sakura preparing the house elves for war, **Kaeim** asked for a future event of Kankuro and Bellatrix having an epic battle, and in regards to NGoF review requests, **SilverMistKunoichi** gets a future event where Gaara does something cute. XD **

XXxXXLuciXXxXX, Azali-Kauriu,** and **Naruto5291** still need to tell me their requests! **

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

The world was spinning. It was spinning so fast that Naruto's stomach churned. "I don't like your transportation magic that much," he mumbled once the world righted itself.

Ron snickered. "What—the powerful ninja has a weak tummy?" Naruto glared at him.

"Before we start _fighting_," Hermione said, putting herself in front of the two boys, "let's focus on getting off the street, all right?"

"Where are we, anyway?" Harry asked. All four of them were in a crowded, dimly lit street. He found himself feeling rather exposed with his dress robes as people stared at him strangely.

"Tottenham Court Road," said Hermione. "Walk, just walk, we need to find a safe spot for you to change." She frantically looked for a way out of the crowd and started to run when Naruto grabbed her arm.

"Just wait—I can find us a place," he said. Naruto closed his eyes and stretched his senses. There really were a lot of people gathered around them. The task was a little difficult because the normal civilians had no distinct energy signatures, but Kakashi had taught Sakura and him well. Finally, he found the perfect spot.

He opened his eyes. "Got it; follow me and stay close." The three wizards were startled to see two kunai suddenly appear in his hands.

"No matter how many times you do that, I'll never get used to it," Ron mumbled.

As they rushed down the street, the wizards took note of how Naruto's attention darted all over the place and his grip on the weapons tightened whenever they got too close to anyone. They all exchanged a look, realizing how dangerous things really were. With the Ministry fallen, they were now fugitives of the Wizarding world. And knowing Voldemort, there was the chance he would somehow trick the Muggle world to look for them as well.

Once they arrived at an abandoned alleyway, Harry suddenly found his voice. "Wait—what do you mean change into clothes? We have no clothes to change _into!_" Then he gasped. "The Cloak! I can't believe I forgot it! I should have kept it with me at all times!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's okay, I've got the Cloak as well as clothes for all of you to change into."

Naruto blinked, her last comment distracted him from his mental observation of the alley. "Even me?"

"When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes . . . " Ron said, frowning at Hermione who was rummaging through her handbag.

"Yes, they're here," she said. To the boys' astonishment, she pulled out some jeans, sweaters, and then the Invisibility Cloak.

"How the ruddy hell—"

"Undetectable Extension Charm," Hermione explained. "Tricky, but I think I've done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here. I asked Kakashi to give me your clothes and things, Naruto, just before the wedding." She shook the bag and swore. "That'd be the books, and I had them all stacked by subject . . . Oh well . . . Harry, you'd better take the Invisibility Cloak, Ron, hurry up and change . . . "

"You're amazing, you are," Ron said as he handed her his robes.

There was a small smile on Hermione's face. "Thank you." In a few minutes' time, all of them were properly dressed and ready. Naruto used his wand to alter his clothing so he could blend in more with the Muggles. His orange sweats were now black cargo pants, the undershirt was unchanged, and the orange sweat-jacket was now a faded orange, zip-up jacket with a hood. Ron told him he should have changed the color of the jacket, but Naruto had refused. The color had really grown on him and he wasn't going to give it up.

"Okay, let's find somewhere to sit down—"

"Wait!" Harry said. He was now hidden beneath the Cloak. "The others—everyone at the wedding—"

"Don't worry," Naruto assured him. "Kakashi-sensei, Gaara, Kankuro, and Sakura-chan are all there. They won't let anything bad happen to them."

Harry felt Naruto had a point, but he still couldn't shake his worry. If anything happened to Ginny, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

"Come on, I think we ought to keep moving," said Hermione. The four of them made their way back onto the main street with Naruto leading the way. There were only a handful of people left on the street; a few couples and a group of drunk men.

"Hey, baby! Why don't you ditch Ginger and Blondie there and let us show you a great time?"

Ron clenched his fists and opened his mouth but Hermione cut him off. "Just ignore them," she hissed.

Harry laughed in the empty space beside them. "Tell that to him." Hermione and Ron spun around to see Naruto walking across the street to the drunken men. They looked disgusted at Naruto's approach.

"Listen kid—I don't swing that way," the grubbiest of them said. He shooed Naruto away as if he were some diseased animal. His three companions snickered nearby.

Naruto was appalled. "Really?" He examined himself over, looked contemplative, and nodded his head in agreement. "You're right." Then without warning he knocked the man out cold with a powerful punch.

"_That's_ how I swing." The other three guys stared at Naruto in disbelief, unsure if they should be angry or scared. Naruto pointed a finger at them. "Take this sorry trash somewhere else and learn how to treat woman better."

"You can't—" With a strangled yelp the second man collapsed to the floor.

The third man held out his hands and started backing away. "Listen man . . . we don't want no trouble—do we, Jack?" Jack just shrugged.

Naruto shook his head. "No, see—now you've gotten me angry." He started inching towards them. "I missed out on a good fight a few minutes ago, and I've got to have _some_ outlet for all this energy, right?" He cracked his knuckles while both men turned around and tried sprinting the other way. Naruto just shook his head in disappointment.

"Do you honestly think running—"

(he suddenly appeared in front of them) "—is going to help you much?" The two men fell to the floor before they could scream.

Ron and Harry clapped Naruto on the back when he returned, while Hermione looked to be debating whether or not she should approve of him sticking up for her like that or not. The desire to scold him was plainly written on her face.

"Don't worry, Hermione," the shinobi said.

"But, just picking a fight like that? It doesn't seem like you."

"I did it because in that state they could really hurt someone," Naruto explained. "If we weren't here they would have probably gone after you." He glanced around for a moment and then pointed to a cafe. "Let's go there."

It was shabby and rather dirty, but the cafe served for shelter. They were the only customers and so were served right away, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence. Hermione kept glancing over her shoulder and Ron drummed his fingers against his leg impatiently. Harry felt restless, his hand gripping his wand. And judging by the way Naruto's hands were hovering over his weapons—he was as nervous as the rest of them. As Harry waited, he could feel the last of the Polyjuice potion leaving him, so he pulled his glasses out of his pocket and put them on again.

"You know, we're not far from the Leaky Cauldron here, it's only in Charing Cross—"

"Ron, we can't!" said Hermione at once.

"Not to stay there, but to find out what's going on!"

"We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?"

"And how do you know there aren't Death Eaters just waiting for you there?" Naruto asked. "It's the most obvious place you would go so it's the most dangerous."

"Okay, okay, it was just an idea!"

They relapsed into a prickly silence that was only interrupted by the waitress who brought them their cappuccinos. Naruto glanced at his suspiciously, crinkling his nose at the smell.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's a type of coffee," Hermione said.

Ron took a sip and nearly spit it out. "God, that's revolting. I dunno what coffee's like where you're from, but this sure isn't coffee." Naruto took that as a hint and put it back down on the table. The waitress overheard and shot Ron a nasty look and would have said something were it not for the two burly workmen who entered the shop. She sent Ron one last glare and left to attend to their orders.

Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of the two men and he quickly stood up. "Take your wands out and get down!" he whispered. Before the others could ask what was going on, Naruto leapt through the air and slammed the large blond man's head down, shattering the counter. The waitress screamed and ran for the door as the man's companion jabbed his wand in Naruto's direction. The shinobi barely dodged the green light that whizzed past his head.

A Stunning Spell sent by Harry came rushing towards the conscious Death Eater but he blocked it with a Shield Charm. He then shot a Stunning Spell of his own but it rebounded on the window and hit the fleeing waitress. Then the Death Eater tried to cast another spell but found himself unable to move. To his surprise, it wasn't a paralyzing spell but instead hundreds of nearly invisible strings that made him immobile.

Naruto suddenly appeared in front of the Death Eater and grabbed his throat. "Tell me what you're doing here," he growled.

"Why should I?" the man sneered. His rebellious streak faltered at the sight of the smirk on Naruto's face.

"Because it's not an option," the shinobi said, resting a kunai against the Death Eater's neck. "Tell me or you die."

"Naru—" Ron was cut off by Hermione clapping a hand over his mouth.

"You want to let them know the shinobi are back?" she hissed. She cleared her throat and looked at Naruto. "You can't do that, we need to leave!"

As Naruto opened his mouth in protest, Harry sent a Stunning Spell towards the Death Eater. Once the man was unconscious, Harry turning to Ron. "Turn off the lights!"

Ron fumbled through his pocket and pulled out his Deluminator. With one click all the lights zoomed towards the device and they were all thrown into darkness.

"What did you do that for?" Naruto growled. "We had a chance to figure out how they found us so fast!"

Harry threw off his Cloak. "Because by the time you got the answer out of him there could have easily been four other Death Eaters at the door! We need to keep moving."

"I-I agree with Harry," Hermione said timidly. "We can worry about that later."

"But how can we be sure we won't make the same mistake again?" Naruto frowned and stared at the Death Eater contemplatively. "Perhaps we could take him with us. I'll get him to talk."

"You can't do that!" Hermione protested. "What are you going to do, torture them?"

Naruto looked at her sadly. "If that's what it takes. You three are _my _responsibility, and as your guard I must take every available measure to ensure your safety. Besides, he's seen me so we can't let him go back."

"I can use _Obliviate_," Hermione said. "I can erase his memory! So please . . . we can't . . . we can't _torture him!_" Tears fell down her face and Ron put his arm around her. He narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"Look mate, I know this is the way you solve things where you're from, but not here. If we torture him for information then we'll be just like Vol—"

"This is war!" Naruto yelled. He gestured at the two Death Eaters angrily. "You need to understand that you can't win it by being all kind and nice. There are times you have to fight dirty in order to protect the ones you love. You think I _want_ to do this?!"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Ron and Naruto glared at each other, with Hermione looking back and forth between the two of them nervously. Harry sighed.

"Look—I'm not going to say who's right or wrong in this situation," he began, "but whatever we do we're going to have to do it fast, because these guys are going to wake up soon." He shifted his attention to Naruto. "I understand that you're in charge of us, but as our guard you'll also have to do what I say, right?" Harry's stomach churned uncomfortably at having to speak to Naruto so harshly and treat him like a hired bodyguard instead of their friend, but they needed to act quickly.

"Right." Harry resisted the urge to flinch at the betrayed look in Naruto's eyes.

"Okay then, Hermione—use _Obliviate_ on the waitress and blond guy. I'll repair the counter, and Naruto—" (Harry took a deep breath) "—we'll take that guy with us."

Ron looked at Harry in shock. "You can't be serious!?" Harry turned to Ron angrily.

"I don't like it either, but we need to get going! And if this guy can tell us how we were followed so quickly it's going to solve a lot of problems for us in the long run. Now, once everything is taken care of, you need to put the lights back."

"And where are we going to go then?" Ron asked, folding his arms angrily. "You have a place all set up for us to torture in secret?"

"Grimmauld Place," said Harry. The two wizards gasped.

"Don't be silly, Harry, Snape can get in there!"

"Ron's dad said that they put up jinxes against him so he can't get in there, and it's better than nothing!" Harry pressed before Hermione could argue.

"But remember what Naruto said? That would be a more obvious place for us to go than the Leaky Cauldron!"

"Hermione, it's the best place. Even if the Death Eaters come it will be a while before they can penetrate the place, so it will at least give us some time!"

"But, Harry—"

"Come on! I could still have the Trace on me and every second we waste here gives the Death Eaters more time to find us! Let's go!" Hermione and Ron glanced at each other for a moment, then Ron sighed and shrugged in frustration.

"Fine, whatever you say. You're the boss, right?" He shifted his attention to Naruto who was standing by patiently with the Death Eater, freed from the string. "Guess you got what you wanted, huh?"

Hermione's eyes glistened once again but she kept her mouth shut and rushed to the waitress to clear her memory.

"_Reparo!_" Once the splintered counter went back to normal, Harry rubbed his forehead wearily. How did things turn sour so quickly? They hadn't been by themselves for a full ten minutres and already Hermione was in tears and Naruto and Ron were at each other's throats. He could easily see the logic in Naruto's argument and silently agreed with him though. And as for Ron—he was just frightened and his friend just had a bit of trouble sorting out his feelings. Harry just prayed things would smooth over once they arrived at Sirius' house.

"All right, everything's taken care of," Hermione said softly.

Harry nodded. "Right. Now, on the count of three, we'll release the spell on the waitress and Death Eater, Ron you put the lights back, and we'll Apparate to Grimmauld Place. One . . . two . . . three!" The four of them turned on the spot and plunged into the darkness.

* * *

Seconds later they found themselves standing in front of a cluster of tall, dilapidated houses. Naruto blinked and examined their new surroundings with a frown. "Hey, why does it go from 11 to 13?"

"Oh, that's right!" Hermione said. "Harry, you need to tell him where it is."

"Right." Harry leaned in and whispered the location in Naruto's ear. The shinobi jumped as the buildings suddenly stretched and building 12 appeared as if it were an everyday occurrence.

"Cool," he mumbled.

They walked into the house in silence, only interrupted by the jinxes that had been put in place to stop Snape. The sight of an ash Dumbledore had been unnerving to say the least. Naruto had the pleasure of being introduced to Mrs. Black's wailing portrait when he screamed at the fake Dumbledore's appearance, and then described the house as "completely weird."

"Let's find a simple room upstairs to put this guy in," Harry suggested. The four of them made their way up the stairs and Naruto stared at the house-elf heads in horror.

"Yeah, it's apparently a great honor for them to have their heads hung up on the wall," Ron explained when he noticed Naruto's face. "They're all nutters. Speaking of nutters, where do you suppose Kreacher is, Harry?"

The black-haired boy shrugged. "Dunno. He's probably sulking around somewhere, muttering about how he hates having to belong to someone like me. How about this room?" He opened the door cautiously, knowing that there was no way to tell what you might find. It was a simple study, complete with a desk, bookshelves—and your typical Dark objects lying about. He could have sworn there was a Hand of Glory on the far shelf.

"I think that guy is Dolohov," Ron said offhandedly, looking back towards the Death Eater. "He resembles the one from the wanted posters."

"Guess that's one less question we have to—"

"He's waking up!" Hermione shrieked. The Death Eater groaned and started stirring. They wasted no time in throwing him into a chair, and Naruto quickly tied his headband over Dolohov's eyes while Harry shot some ropes out of his wand to bind him.

"That should hold him," Naruto said approvingly.

As Dolohov continued to wake, Hermione bit back a strangled cry. "I-I . . . I'm sorry—I can't stay here!" She rushed out of the room crying and slammed the door, leaving nothing behind but her loud footsteps pounding down the stairs.

"I think what you guys are doing is stupid," Ron said, "but I'm only going to stay to make sure you don't kill him—" (he glared at Naruto) "—and to make sure that bloke doesn't hurt Harry." With that said, Ron kicked a chair towards the door that Hermione shut and sat. He stared at them so intently it was as if he were trying to make them feel guilty by looks alone.

Harry reached out to try and grasp Naruto's shoulder in a comforting way, but at that moment the Death Eater fully awoke and all of Naruto's attention was on the man.

"Where am I?" Dolohov cried. He moved his head all around, trying to see past the blindfold.

"You don't need to know," Naruto said curtly. "We'll let you go only after you answer some questions for us."

The Death Eater let out a cruel laugh. "Oh, really? You trying to frighten me into talking? You're way out of your league, kid. Why don't you just—"

_SMACK_. The force of Naruto's punch nearly knocked the man off the chair. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"

"Answer my question—how did you find us?"

"Not gonna tell."

_SMACK_.

"Seriously, kid—you'll get in trouble! Do you really want—"

_SMACK_. A trickle of blood started flowing down the man's nose.

"How did you find us?"

"I can't say."

_SMACK_. Dolohov's lip split open.

"_How did you find us?!_"

"I-I can't tell you!"

Ron leapt off his chair and grabbed Naruto's arm before he could hit the Death Eater again. "_If you keep punching him in the face he won't be able to speak!_" Ron hissed. "How do you plan to get any information out of a guy with a broken jaw?" Naruto stared at Ron in shock before he gave him a curt nod and made his expression neutral once more.

"You're right." Ron glared at him and let go of his arm roughly before returning to his seat. The Weasley then gave Harry a look that said _Is this what you wanted?_ to which Harry shook his head and ignored him. There were more important things to think of at the moment, and his frightened, moody friend was the least of his troubles.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," Naruto warned. "_How—did—you—find—us?_" He accentuated each word with a jab into Dolohov's stomach, leaving him wheezing and doubled over on the chair. It took a moment for him to catch his breath.

"You know—you strike . . . a hard bargain kid, but . . . but you should know that the Dark Lord is . . . far more frightening than you."

Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously and Harry could have sworn they were red for a moment. "Oh really?" Naruto looked contemplative for a moment and pulled out his wand. "Guess I'll have to adopt his principles then. Let's try this one on for size, shall we?"

"_Crucio!_"

Harry resisted the urge to cover his ears at the man's screams. Even though he was a Death Eater, Harry couldn't find pleasure at his discomfort. He glanced at Ron and saw he had his eyes closed and ears covered.

Half a minute later Naruto released the curse. "So . . . are you ready to tell how you found us yet?"

"Heh . . . y-you're good," Dolohov gasped. "B-but you still have . . . nothing on the Dark Lord."

Naruto raised his wand again. "Then we'll just—"

"STOP!" The door swung open and Hermione came rushing through.

"What are you doing, Herm—" Ron closed his mouth at her glare. "Oh, right—sorry. But what are you doing?"

"I was looking through the supply cupboards and found this!" she announced, holding up a small vial.

"That's brilliant!" Harry said, recognizing it instantly.

"Thank you. Now, this is Veritaserum," she said, handing to it Naruto. "Just force him to drink some and he will be unable to lie."

Naruto stared at the vial in shock. Something that powerful really existed? The shinobi visibly relaxed at Hermione's words and Harry was surprised, not noticing how tense Naruto had been before.

Dolohov was shaking and he shook his head violently. "N-n-n-no! No! You don't understand! If the Dark Lord finds out he'll kill me! You can't do this! He'll kill me!" Naruto grabbed Dolohov's throat.

"Guess you should have picked who you chose to follow more carefully." He popped the cap off and forcibly poured it into the Death Eater's mouth. Dolohov made a move to spit it out but Naruto was quicker. He clamped the man's mouth shut and covered his nose. With the absence of oxygen Dolohov started thrashing in an attempt to break free.

"I need some help!"

Harry immediately rushed forward and grabbed hold. Ron came a few seconds later, taking care of the other side. As Dolohov started turning blue, Naruto yelled, "Swallow it and you'll live!" The Death Eater immediately gulped the potion down and Naruto let go. Harry and Ron continued holding on as the man sputtered and gasped for air.

"Now," Naruto said. "Tell me how you found us."

"The Dark Lord has placed a spell on his name," the Death Eater began. "Whenever someone speaks it we go and capture those responsible."

"It's a good plan," Harry admitted. "Only those who oppose him dare to use his name."

"Do you know who we are?" Naruto continued.

Dolohov shook his head. "Not completely. We thought you might be Harry Potter and his friends, but we didn't see the scarred one in your group. The three of you looked familiar, so we hoped to get information out of you." Ron smirked at Harry and mouthed, _Scarred one?_

"Oh, buzz off," Harry mumbled.

"Where is the Dark Lord hid—"

"_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

The wizards and shinobi stared at the writhing Death Eater in confusion.

"Does it usually hurt people like this?" Naruto asked.

A horrible fear gripped Harry's stomach. "Look at his arm!" Ron quickly turned it upwards for everyone to see. The dark mark was glowing red and moving against the skin as if it were alive.

"He's using it to track us!" Harry yelled.

Hermione covered her mouth in horror. "What do we do?!"

In one swift movement Naruto grasped Dolohov's head and snapped his neck. He ignored Hermione's shriek and sliced off the arm with the dark mark because it was still throbbing and giving their position away. Naruto then lit the severed limb on fire with his wand. The four of them stared in morbid fascination as the magical fire disintegrated the arm into a pile of ash and bones. Hermione looked like she was about to faint while Ron looked like he wanted to vomit. The sight disturbed Harry as well (not to mention the horrid smell of burning flesh), but he was more worried about the possibility of Voldemort pounding on the door. If he was able to get a fix on their location, then they were all doomed. Where would they be able to go?

"N-Naruto?"

The blond shinobi jumped and looked at Hermione, her voice breaking his trance. He looked back and forth between the dead body, the bones, Hermione, Ron, and then finally Harry before rushing out the door in a flash. Harry could have sworn he saw tears in the shinobi's bright, blue eyes.

"What? Is he regretting his stupid decision?" Ron spat. "Good."

"Ronald!" Hermione slapped his shoulder. "You can be such an inconsiderate prat!" She hit him again for good measure and ran after Naruto, leaving a stunned Ron in her wake.

"Did you hear that? Did you _see_ that?" Ron asked. "I can't believe her!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Ron. I know Naruto's idea wasn't something anyone wanted to do, but you've got to admit it helped."

Ron folded his arms and growled. His gaze shifted towards the deceased Death Eater and he crinkled his nose in disgust. "What're we gonna do with him?"

"I think we should—_AHHH!_" All thoughts about the body left Ron's mind as he watched Harry collapse onto the floor, clutching his scar. He rushed to Harry's side and helped him sit up.

"Harry! Harry, what's wrong? What do you see? Harry! Is he coming? _Harry!_"

* * *

"He'll be all right."

"Hn."

"Mrs. Weasley said there was nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gaara sighed. "It's hard not to worry though."

Luna smiled. "Of course—he's your brother."

The two of them were sitting next to the couch, waiting for Kankuro to wake up. Mr. Weasley, Kakashi, and Remus were discussing immediate safety plans in the dining room, looking at various maps and spell books. Everyone else was talking in hushed whispers outside, doing their best to clean up the wedding mess before any Death Eaters arrived. Gaara felt inconsiderate sitting while the others were working, but Mrs. Weasley insisted that he stay with his brother. Luna offered to sit with him as well, saying she didn't want him to feel too lonely.

"It's weird," Gaara said softly, not taking his eyes of Kankuro's sleeping form. He was mesmerized by the rise and fall of the older boy's chest, and Gaara was afraid it would suddenly stop if he stopped watching. "He would get hurt all the time in the past, but I couldn't have cared less. I couldn't have cared if he lived or died."

"But you care now."

Gaara stared at her incredulously. "What does it matter that I care now? The point is that I've wasted all these years _not _caring for him."

Luna shrugged. "It's in the past," she said, as if it were a simple concept.

"But it still happened." He hadn't really told Luna about how he used to be (not like they had hung around each other enough for something like that anyway) so it made sense why she was so insistent about his previous behavior not being such a big deal.

"True, but you're sad about it now, right?" Luna asked. Gaara nodded slowly and she beamed. "See? Nothing to worry about. Everyone makes mistakes, but the only thing that matters is whether or not you learn from it and become a better person." Luna hesitated and slowly put her hand on top of Gaara's. "And I think you're a better person."

Gaara's breath hitched and he almost flinched at Luna's touch. It seemed like he would never get used to other people touching him. However . . . this was different. Luna's hand felt warm and . . . soft and—he felt happy. Like he wanted to laugh really loud. Temari and Kankuro and a few close friends had touched his shoulder or hand before and while it made him happy that they felt comfortable enough to actually be near him—this was different.

He then realized that for some reason, there was a big grin on his face, and he figured it had to be rather goofy because Luna had a big smile on her face as well. What was wrong with him? Now his entire body felt really warm and—

"Ugggg," Kankuro groaned. Luna quickly took her hand off Gaara's and the two avoided looking at each other. Why didn't Gaara want Kankuro to see Luna touching his hand? Why was it bothering him to think he would find out?

"I feel like Temari hit me with her fan a million times," Kankuro groaned, his voice raspy.

"Here's some infusion of Gurdyroot," Luna said, offering him a glass.

"Mn, thanks," Kankuro said. "Everything's all blurry."

"You were hit with some sort of spell," Gaara explained as Kankuro took a sip.

"Bleh—ack! Gah!" Kankuro gagged on the drink and hit his chest. "What the hell was that, man?"

"A drink that helps you feel better," Luna said happily. "My father made it."

Kankuro wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his dress robes and raised an eyebrow at Luna. "Then he cooks like my sis. You want it?"

"Sure!" Luna took a long swig of the dark, purple liquid and smacked her lips. "That was very kind of you."

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, what was that you said, Gaara?" Kankuro asked. "A spell?"

Gaara nodded. "You were hit by a nonverbal spell in the back and it knocked you out for a while. Twelve minutes." The older boy swore and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I certainly feel like—" Kankuro's eyes widened as the reality of what happened hit him. "Anyone else get knocked out? Or was I the only one?"

"Other people got hurt, but you were the only one who was knocked out."

Kankuro slammed his fist on the couch and swore in Japanese. "How could this have happened, man? I was made a fool of!"

"Nothing to be ashamed about," Luna said helpfully. "You've never fought against wizards before, right?"

"That doesn't matter!" Kankuro jumped to his feet and clenched his fists. "Who cares if I've never fought with 'em before? Wizard, shinobi, or civilian—I should have been beaten like that! I swear I'll do whatever it takes to make sure this never happens again!"

"That's the spirit!" Kakashi said happily. He clapped Kankuro on the shoulder. "Now, before you go and train yourself to death, how about we work on getting up some seals and spells? The Death Eaters aren't going to wait forever, you know."

* * *

Rage.

Pure . . . untainted . . . _rage_.

It was all Harry could feel. Voldemort had never felt this much emotion before, and it took a moment for the boy to collect his thoughts and be aware of his surroundings. He was in a dark room, the only light coming from a large fire. The blond Death Eater that Naruto knocked out in the cafe was writhing on the ground, screaming. Harry—or rather, Voldemort—held up a hand and the screaming stopped. Then he spoke in a cold, merciless voice:

"More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time . . . You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped yet again? And furthermore," (Harry walked forward and grabbed Rowle's throat) "Dolohov went and got himself _captured_ by those brats?" His grip tightened on Rowle's throat and the man gasped for air, his skin taking on a bluish tint. "Sorry, you can't die yet."

Harry threw Rowle to the floor and watched in disgust as the man wheezed and sucked in desperately needed air. "Pathetic. I don't know why I put up with you people. Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure . . . Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!" Harry watched as a pale and petrified Draco raised a trembling wand and pointed it to Rowle who starting screaming once again. Harry sighed and waited a few moments to listen to Rowle's screams before speaking again.

"You want to know the best part?" he asked. He grabbed Draco's hair roughly and turned the boy's head back, but not far enough to disrupt the curse. "I tried to find where our dear, _sweet _disciple was, and before I had the chance to pinpoint the location . . . he died!" He pushed Draco forward and started to pace around Rowle who was still screaming.

"You can pause for now, Draco." The boy quickly released the spell and backed up against the fireplace, as if he expected to be able to meld into it. Harry crouched down near Rowle and started whispering. "I was able to figure out they were in London, but that's all I was able to tell before the connection was cut. Granted, if it weren't for the powerful wards protecting the place I would have been able to figure it out quicker. Harry and his friends were smart to find such a haven, but not for long." Harry laughed cruelly.

"Soon enough, Harry Potter will meet his match and I will prove who is the better wizard. With Dumbledore gone, there is no one left to oppose me." Harry sighed in content and twirled Rowle's wand in his long, spidery fingers. He then looked at Rowle as one would inspect a piece of furniture that had to be moved.

"I think the best course of action would be to send you to Dolohov, wouldn't that be fun?" Rowle shook his head and crawled towards Harry, begging to be spared. "You'll be able to let him know how things are going. Kill him, Draco."

"W-w-wh-what?"

"Hmmm, that's right—you're too much of a coward to kill anyone, right? Sorry, I forgot how worthless you Malfoys are." Harry sneered and pointed the wand at Rowle's face. "No matter—I think I much rather enjoy killing him myself."

_"Avada Kedavra!_"

* * *

"_HARRY!_"

Ron was beside himself. No matter how many times he shook him or screamed his name Harry just sat there, clutching his scar and crying out in pain as he leaned against Ron. Ron knew that as helpful as being inside Voldemort's mind could be, there was still the chance of Voldemort making the connection and using it against them. And what if Voldemort was coming towards them this minute? He was he supposed to know?

"Sorry, mate. This is gonna hurt." Ron pulled his arm back and was just about to smack his friend across the face when Harry shot up, nearly hitting Ron's jaw. "What is it?" Ron asked. "What did you see? Is he coming here? Oh, please say he isn't! We have nowhere else to go! We—"

"Ron? Please . . . shut it for the moment," Harry said weakly. His head was still spinning and it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his skull. All he could see was Draco's horrified face and hear Rowle's screams for mercy. Combine that with the stench of blood and burning flesh and then the sight of someone getting their neck snapped—Harry was having a bit of a rough time at the moment.

"Is he coming?"

Harry shook his head. "No . . . Naruto destroyed the mark in time, and it's only thanks to the charms protecting the house that we were saved." Ron let out a deep breath and collapsed onto the floor, content with just lying on his back. The two of them lay there, panting; relishing in the silence.

"Some wedding this turned out to be, huh?" Ron laughed. "I'm all for letting someone else take over for a while."

Harry let out a dry laugh. "Too late for that now."

"Yeah, I guess so." Ron pushed himself up and sighed. "Let's get out of this room. It's starting to smell like Death Eater." He held out a hand which Harry gratefully accepted. Just then, a silver Patronus materialized before them and it spoke with Arthur Weasley's voice:

"_Family safe, do not reply, we are being watched_."

"They're safe! They're safe!" Ron exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Harry in a tight hug.

"All right, all right!" Harry pushed Ron away. "Keep those sort of things to yourself, would you?" he teased.

"Got it," Ron said, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"Let's go find Naruto."

* * *

Ever since the cafe Naruto had felt out of sorts. From the instant the two wizards entered the cafe, Naruto knew there was going to be trouble. The only way they could have found them so fast was if there was some sort of tracking device on the four of them, and Naruto had been intent to find out. His mission was to guard Harry, Ron, and Hermione and he was going to do everything in his power and then some to make sure this mission was successful. There were going to be no more deaths (on their side) if he could help it.

And so when the opportunity presented itself, Naruto was quick to take it. So what if they had to torture the guy? He was a Death Eater, wasn't he? The bad guy? The opponent? He had to be eliminated. The need for information only postponed the inevitable.

Truthfully speaking, though? Naruto was terrified at the prospect of torturing another human being, or any living thing for that matter. There just had to be other ways to get things done. The genin could remember back to when Team 7 was still together and Kakashi sat them down for the required lesson on torture. All shinobi had to be taught at least the basic techniques on how to deal with it, in order to protect the village secrets.

At the time he had been dumb enough to ask Kakashi if he had ever been tortured, and regretted it. Kakashi had to have been expecting the question to come from him, but it was obvious that wasn't a topic you could prepare yourself for. Their sensei went quiet and stared off into space, caught up in some bad memories. Naruto would never forget the look in his eye, and at that moment he knew that torture was one of the most evil things someone could do to another person. So how could he willingly agree or even _suggest_ something like that?

Because he was a shinobi.

Jiraiya's death had taught him that. Despite what everyone thought, Naruto did not, in fact, think life was about nothing but friendship and ramen. He knew it was tough. He knew it was dangerous and full of sadness. But that gave him all the more reason to smile and try to brighten the day of those he was close to. It made him happy when he was able to make his team laugh, put a real smile on Sai's face, help Iruka forget about all the paperwork he had to do, and go play with the guys.

Yet he hadn't really known what being a shinobi meant exactly. Of course, he had more than a general idea, but it never quite sunk in. Until now. Now Naruto understood that being a shinobi meant you had to do things you didn't want. Things that conflicted with your morals. Things you would never do willingly. All for the sake of completing the mission.

And Naruto _hated_ it. Why was that the definition of a shinobi? How could generations of shinobi submit to that way of thinking? Not anymore though; Naruto was sure of that. He was going to work until he died to show that you could be a shinobi and not have to work that way. Naruto's goal was to squash that belief.

He was disgusted with himself as he had to torture the Death Eater. It made him sick, and he kept wishing for a way out of it. But it was the only way he knew how. And he knew that keeping Harry and his friends safe was the key for stopping Voldemort from destroying the world. The wizard's world, at least. It had to be done. Thankfully, Hermione came to his rescue with the truth potion. She really saved him.

And why? Because Naruto almost wasn't able to control himself. All he could see was Pein in front of him, sitting in the chair bound and blindfolded. He had never met the Akatsuki member, but Dolohov had turned into some faceless demon with an Akatsuki cloak and an uncontrollable rage built up inside of Naruto. He had kept the Kyuubi at bay, but if it was allowed to go any longer he couldn't say for sure what would have happened.

He wanted revenge for what Pein did to Jiraiya. Naruto wanted to watch the life die from the man's eyes as penance for him taking Jiraiya's. Only when the man was dead and the incriminating dark mark destroyed did Naruto snap out of it. Only then did he realize what he had almost done and it sickened him. He had a small taste of what Sasuke felt.

Revenge.

It truly was an ugly thing. To not only want to end another person's life so badly, but to want to enjoy watching them suffer. Naruto felt tainted, having harbored thoughts like that. But . . . now he understood Sasuke better. Now he could stand up to the idiot and say that he knew what it was like to have someone so close to you be destroyed for no reason. Now they could relate.

And not all hope was lost! Naruto had been able to resist succumbing to revenge, with the help of his wizard friends of course. So that meant Sasuke could be saved, too! If Naruto could be saved from his revenge, then there was still a chance for Sasuke. All he needed was his friends' help.

Yet, despite the bright note, it was obvious that Ron hated him now. Not that Naruto could blame him, though. He completely destroyed their innocence by killing that man in front of them (he figured snapping his neck would be less messy) and cutting off his arm. They may have been through their share of ordeals, but that had to be traumatic. And—

"Naruto?" The shinobi jumped, startled by Hermione's sudden arrival.

"Oh, uh . . . hi," Naruto said. It was then that he noticed he had been crying and he quickly dried his eyes.

Hermione's eyes were red and puffy as well, but she was looking at him kindly. "I'm sorry you had to go through with that," she said quietly. She glanced around the room and smiled. "What brought you in here?"

"Huh? Oh, I . . . " Naruto got to his feet and looked around. "To be honest, I just ran into this room on instinct. I have no idea what it's even for . . . what are those drawings on the wall?"

"They're not drawings," Hermione laughed. "It's a tapestry." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "It's a really big quilt," she corrected.

"Why are there all these faces? And who would want to make a quilt of these people, anyway? They're not really much to look at."

"They are all members of the Black family. As in Sirius Black," Hermione said. "Listen . . . how about we stop avoiding the topic at hand, okay?"

"Don't know what you mean." Hermione sighed and pulled Naruto away from the wall and towards the couch.

"I know that you're feeling bad about the—"

"Look, Hermione, I'm fine." Naruto smiled. "I just . . . am feeling a little tired, you know? Long day and all."

"Hey, guys!" Harry said, with a little too much enthusiasm. "Good news, You-Know-Who isn't coming. All the protective charms prevented him from figuring out where we were."

"Oh, good." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. She frowned at Harry and then gave him a very Mrs. Weasley-like face. "And just what _else_ did you see?"

"Uh . . ." Harry knew there was no fooling Hermione, but he had really hoped she wouldn't notice. "Vol—You-Know-Who killed Rowle and he was angry that he wasn't able to find us, that's all." He decided to keep the bit about Malfoy to himself, unsure if it was his place or not to mention it. Harry also felt pity for the Slytherin despite their history and was disgusted by the way Voldemort was using him. No doubt Voldemort was using his parent's lives to threaten him.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Naruto avoided looking at anyone and Ron avoided looking at Naruto. Hermione and Harry shared an exasperated look.

"I-I suppose I'll go and clean up the mess," Naruto began. Harry nudged Ron hard in the ribs and gestured to Naruto. He hadn't spent the past five minutes explaining to Ron how much of a git he had been to Naruto for nothing.

Ron sighed and became very interested with the ground. "Look, Naruto . . . I'm sorry that—"

"It's okay," the shinobi said. He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it was stupid and I shouldn't have done it."

"No, it's not." Ron stepped forward and looked Naruto in the eyes. "I can't say that I like what you did, but you were right that it had to be done. Now we know how to stop You-Know-Who from finding where we are. I shouldn't have been angry with you and you were just doing your job." He smiled and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "I'm glad we have you around."

Naruto beamed at Ron, his blue eyes glistening. Then without warning he pulled the redhead into a tight embrace. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Yeah . . . well, uh—glad we got that settled," Ron said, patting Naruto on the back awkwardly. When they pulled apart Ron yawned wildly. "Dunno 'bout you lot, but I'm dead tired. How about we turn in for the night?"

"That's a good idea," Harry admitted, unable to stop a yawn of his own.

"Can we be together?" Hermione said sheepishly. "I-I don't really want to be left alone right now."

"Sure," Harry said. "But let's move out of this room at least." He gestured to the walls. "Not the best company."

In a few minutes time they had set up in the living room. Ron had insisted Hermione take the couch, to which the other boys strongly agreed. The three of them slept on the ground in their sleeping bags, huddled next to each other.

"Maybe one of us should keep watch?" Naruto suggested.

Ron shook his head. "Naw, not like anyone is going to attack us. No one 'cept Kreacher."

"Ron!"

He laughed. "Just teasing. G'night!" As everyone drifted off to sleep, Naruto couldn't help but smile. He had been so afraid that things were going to be awkward between the four of them after the Death Eater incident, but everything was fine. The mission was going decent so far, with the four of them safe in a weird, but nonetheless nice house, and their enemy had no idea where they were. Kakashi would be proud. He had sent a clone earlier to clean up the Death Eater's remains and bring back his headband. Naruto fingered it and thought of Sasuke.

"I will bring you back," he whispered fiercely to himself. "I promise you that."

* * *

**_Dang_, that was a lot of introspective Naruto writing there! Phew! Man, sorry about the bit of an overload. Totally didn't plan for that. Just sorta**—**came out. But it was good, right? Ended on a happy note and everything.**

**So, what do you think? A little bit of a dark start I guess, but this is a war. And yeah, I know that the part at the Burrow was rather short, but this chapter was mainly about the Golden Trio + Naruto. That's kind of how I'm planning the rest of the chapters to go, kind of alternating the main focus of each chapter between the (eventual) three groups with a little bit about what's happening with the others interspersed to break up the story a little. :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Oh, and if anyone was hoping for more on the whole Kankuro issue, don't worry. It hasn't had much time to sink in yet, but he's going to be really angry about being beaten by a wizard. There will be repercussions coming up so no worries.**

* * *

Anonymous reviewers reply time!

The RoseandtheDagger: Heh—yeah, they have a little moment together. And what kind of story would be complete without Sakura's massive strength knocking someone flying? :) Glad you approve of my Gaara/Luna pairing. I've really become attached to it.

NekoChi: -glomps you back- I'm so glad you liked it! And there's no reason to feel embarrassed about being excited easily. Heck yes! Gaara/Luna is going to be the main pairing in this story. Makes me happy to know that you like it!

Anonymous: Thanks! Yeah, I was dying for an action-packed chapter, but I had to make sure and set the scene and all that. School is a higher priority, and sadly I wish I was as good as schoolwork as I am in writing. XD

NWFiredragon: Awww, thank you so much! I really try to make it as original and unique as I can. Thank you so much! I hope to make this one better than NGoF.

Kisa: Thank you! HOLY CRAP! YOU WERE THE KISAME I POSED WITH?!?! OH MY GOSH I WISH I KNEW THAT WHEN WE MET!! It's not every day that I get to meet someone from fanfiction! Oh well, I'll be sure to look for you next year! You're going, right? I'm going to most likely be Lenalee Lee from DGrayMan, and then Mori-sempai from Ouran High School Host Club. Look for me! Who are you going to be? This is just so cool! I can put a face to a name. And thanks for posing with me—that was an excellent picture. XD

AustinUzumaki: Glad you liked it! And I'm sorry, there won't be any other people from Naruto coming. :( I've got enough stuff to juggle with as it is in this story, and while it would be cool, I'd be sacrificing quality for quantity of characters. :(

Anonymous: Crap--are there two of you? I can't keep up with how many of you there are! All right, YOU label yourself as "Anonymous 2" and the other guy can be "Anonymous 1." XP Of course I had to! I felt a little bad with all your pestering. XD Hurray! I have totally converted a ton of my readers to that pairing and I feel like an evil mastermind for accomplishing such a feat. And by golly it sure is old bean! Don't you just luv talking this way? I feel I have a rather appropriate accent myself. And yes, depicting the old girl Muriel is quite fun, quite fun.

(just got to your second one) Hello again! XD That was a good movie. Are you keeping up with Brotherhood? It's really great and I can't wait for it to come out in English! I am a total Travis fangirl, and a proud Miniskirt! Are you a Ranger? -shifty eyes- And have you read chapter 102?! Holy crap that was insane! (be sure to talk in code for those who haven't read it yet) It was intense and my friend and I were crying a little. That's really cool! I can't believe something like that happened at a graduation--it's so awesome! Death Note? Yes, I have read/watched it. It took a while for me to get back into it after L died, cuz he was my favorite. I enjoyed it, but it's not one of my favorites.

Hey! (I hope this one was you) I did have a great Christmas, thanks for asking. I got two Border's gift cards that I used to buy manga, and your present sounded awesome! I think you should lay off the sugar though, seeing as how your response was . . . interesting to say the least. XD

Pretty-Dolly: Oh, well thank you so much! :D I'm glad you're enjoying them.

Octopus: That's fine! I know how life gets in the way. Oh—you don't have to do that. ^^; I'm just glad you like it. Thank you so much! I didn't overdo it? Great! I was a little worried but the two of them don't have the luxury of being "slowly" introduced to magic like the others were, so I figured it would be a bit difficult for them. There's some more discomfort in the future, but soon they'll get used to it.

Oh, and sorry for taking so long! I realize you were waiting but the seasons and all. It's here now though!

Nonangel: Hmmm, that is quite an interesting idea! :) Thank you! However, I am sorry to say that it won't really work with the story that I have planned out. I do admit that it would be super awesome to do so, but sadly it would just clash too much with what I've got. Thank you very much though! I like it when people bounce ideas off me because it can inspire me to write something else.

Random reviewer: Yep! And I'm back again. XD Well, thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my story! Makes me happy to know people enjoy it. Of course I would bring Gaara along! He's like my second favorite character! :) Yeah, isn't FMA and DGM great?

Mel: Wow--thank you for you kind words! And it's okay—I can understand. XD Really? Great job! And thank you--trying to get the characters right is one of the most important things to me in writing these stories. Yay! As I was working on the second chapter, someone sent a review talking about how sad they were that Gaara wouldn't be able to come because he was the Kazekage and that it wouldn't make sense, and then I realized I had to make a really convincing reason because there was no way I _wasn't_ going to have Gaara come, so it's nice to know that it makes sense. Gaara/Luna is luv! I never thought I would fall so in luv with that pairing, but apparently it's grown on me. And a lot of other people.

swd: Hey, uh . . . sorry but I have no idea what "actualisalo" means. I tried looking it up but nothing worked.

xcd: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)

kakashifan27: Glad you are having fun so far. :D Sorry it's taken me a while to update though.

Alicia: I'm very sorry, but Sasuke and Orochimaru will not be in the story. I've got enough characters to worry about at the moment, but as you have already seen in this chapter, I mention Sasuke! He's actually going to play a role in the story, but he won't physically be there. He'll mostly be in Naruto's thoughts. Does that make sense? I hope so.


	6. Chapter 6: Preparing for War

**Hello, everyone! I have a ****_SURPRISE!_**** I have now created a **livejournal **account where I will give updates on what's happening with all my stories. Mainly this one. This way I'll be forced to remember how far along I am on some stories, and there will be the occasional SPOILER or two. :) To show that I actually am working on it and as a little gift for those reading. :) And I give you all permission to shower me with guilt if I'm taking too long. XD Just PM me or something and yell "GUILT!" at me all you want. I give you the permission, seriously. You can find the link on my profile page.**

**I'd like to thank these wonderful reviewers! **TheRoseandtheDagger, KatonRyuuka, Lord Rebecca-Sama, Doll-Fin-Chick, melonhed85, Kirai-Ninja, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Little Kunai, Mesonoxian , AyaseFanGirl, Payce99, MadnessLover, Hitokiri, Shinzui, Minirowan, divinerosekeeper, actressforever, we regret to inform you, Chasing, BetahimeTsukiko, Naruto5291, Konerok Hadorak, Lupanari, Orihime-San, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, DaarkLord, Obiki Doragon, midnightmich, Yumetaka Kourui, Konerok Hadorak, quintupledots915, wakeXupXfishy, Raye of the Sunshine, candyman123, Alicia, mysteryP, AnimeFallingStar, Namikaze, naruko14, Chindu Prince Of Darkness, Mihra-Attar, KakaIru-luver, X-Whitemagic58-X, jcbat21, NekoKriszty, frik1000, fortuna16, Jumpingbeans480, Hotaru Imai Sakura, Lunatic Pandora1, NWFiredragon, Taryn Streambattle, Vero-Enelya, The Laughing Phoenix, Octopus123, pamellka, Eikyuu the Jellykage, Kari Suttle, Soraya the All Speaker, liobi's curse, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Ice Vixen X, darkemoperson, cardcaptor eternity, 7thtreasure, Gaarasgirl169, Javiur, Namekazelil, krazypuppy8, PsychicRocker, Anonymous (4), silverwind-39, tooLazy, Umm… Call me Lily, Shardheart, AvatardsUnite MM, Omega Shinobi, chikenbuttnarufan, AustinMinatoUzumaki, Aicutora, Just_Me, Thais of the Star, birningice, TheFabulousLMH, Kisa, marco, kinokokichigai, Akatsuki assassin, DreamFeathers (4), kimcat, Nordlicht, Abe95 (2), sam 110 (2), AirGirl Phantom (3), Minato of the Yellow-Flash, yarra, Magus Zanin, zack maniac, narusaku, Game-girl209, Lightningscar, Sandtalon, Malix2, Mech87 (2), Adam Durlock, gaaraluna3, cyclone13, SHARPIE addict, TiinyDottTee, vanillasalt, Kuro-Ookami4, ANBU's Golden Lioness, FaktCheker, c3xv-011-, Anonymous, Kale Henderson, Naruto-lost-deathnote, happy reader!, MangaFreak15, lil noir neko, fg7dragon, Neko4, YoungEmoGirl, sam110, Serenity Moon2, Random Reviewer, Final Manga, AmohoneyComb, Spockie (4), kyubii's shinigami, Glouise, insaine-since-1996, BloodKitsune11 (2), EC Namikaze, manateeface, GingerSnapDragons, GreyFitti (2), XxSenritsuNoTenshixX (4), mangatiger14, , DualX, Danni, Tobito Uchiha (4), narugirl2969, **and** Smoochynose!

quintupledots915 **was the 500th reviewer, and requested Peanut Brittle and Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Pie. (Good choice) Here you go! Still waiting to hear from **Thais of the Star** and **Neko4**.**

**On with the overdue chapter!**

* * *

The Death Eaters came just a few hours later, making it a total of four hours after they had initially crashed the wedding. By then all the extra spells and traps had been put back into place so they had more than enough warning when the Death Eaters knocked on the door. The shinobi made sure to keep the same disguises they had at the wedding. No sense in taking any chances.

"What do you want with us?" Mr. Weasley asked coldly. He stood with the door wide open but it was obvious he wouldn't let them in without a fight. "Haven't you done enough already, Amycus?"

A squat and lumpy man with dark hair wheezed in what could only be construed as a giggle. "Don't know what you mean. We're jess here to inspect the house. Make sure you don't have any _Dark_ Objects or the like." He pat an insignia on his chest. "Me orders come from the 'Minister' hisself."

Mr. Weasley scoffed. "And you follow his orders like the worthless dog you are."

Amycus growled and withdrew his wand. "Watch your mouth, Muggle-lover, or I'll—"

"You'll what?" Kakashi (still in Obito form) suddenly appeared in between the two of them and gripped Amycus' arm tightly. "If you have business here I suggest you do it quickly and quietly."

The Death Eater tried to pull away, but Kakashi's grip was too strong. After a few useless struggles, Amycus gave up and glared at Kakashi instead. "What?"

Kakashi smiled. "We'll allow you to search the house, but you'll be accompanied by one of my children at all times, just to make sure." With his free hand, Kakashi gestured to Sakura, Gaara, and Kankuro. "Oh, and me of course."

Amycus was ready to protest, but his arm was _really_ hurting. It felt like the strange man would break it at any given second. "Fine!" His arm was released and he quickly stepped away and tried to rub some feeling back into it. Then he composed himself and sneered. "As distinguished and honored representatives of the Minister we have nothing to hide. This is jess a . . . _routine_ inspection of—_your_ kind. Won't take long." He paused for a moment and glanced over everyone's injuries without bothering to hide his amusement. Then he peered over his shoulder to look at his fellow Death Eaters. "Come on."

There were five Death Eaters in all, so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed the one the shinobi could not. The Death Eaters didn't try anything too rash during their "inspection," much to everyone's surprise. There were a few "accidents" where some private property was destroyed, but somehow, whatever Death Eater it happened around mysteriously received an injury. The Death Eater being followed by Gaara swore that the sand that got stuck in his eyes came flying towards him like it were alive, the one followed by Kankuro found himself unable to control his body at some points, the one with Sakura felt a small prick on her neck and started having an allergic reaction, and Amycus was beside himself with fear. He could have _sworn_ that the strange man had swirling red eyes at one point. It was rather eerily reminiscent of Voldemort's.

And so the Death Eaters found themselves glad to leave the Weasley home, not that they would ever admit it to themselves or their "Minister."

"Well, that was exciting," Kakashi said. After watching the Death Eaters Disapparate, they returned to the house in silence. Now they were sitting around the table.

Mr. Weasley growled. "We haven't seen the last of them. They no doubt are planning to assign each of us a guard from now on. We're going to have to be very careful."

"They'll be watching our every move, waiting for a chance to take us away on ridiculous charges," Remus said. His injured head had healed enough so that it no longer hurt to talk.

Tonks scoffed and placed a hand on her hip. "Pretty soon they won't even need a reason. They'll just come and snatch us up whenever they feel like it."

"Now, now." Mrs. Weasley stood up and glanced around the room with a forced smile. "No need to get so negative early on." Then she glanced outside. "It's very late and we've all had a trying day. How about a spot of tea before bed?"

"But we need to—"

"I'm sure whatever you need to plan can be taken of tomorrow," Mrs. Weasley said. Her gaze bore into all the protesting men. "You should be all exhausted from the fighting. I'll cook you all a large breakfast tomorrow, but now you need to sleep."

Everyone was quiet for a few moments until Kakashi broke the silence. "Looks like there's no arguing with you this time, Molly." Sakura turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow and Kakashi shrugged. Normally he would refuse and continue working, which explained his former pupil's disbelief. However, this time he was smart enough to understand how badly Molly needed this. How badly she needed to have _some_ order over this day. Some control. The wedding she had been fruitlessly planning for, the first wedding of one of her many children had ended in disaster.

Of course, the fact that everyone was alive and that Harry and the others hadn't been spotted could hardly be called a disaster, but it was ruined all the same. Kakashi knew enough about mothers from what he had observed to know that they were very particular when it came to their children. They wanted only the best and for things to be perfect for them. And to have the wedding end on such a sour note, with all the guests running for their lives and all the decorations destroyed—it was a wonder she hadn't burst into tears already.

Gaara caught his eye and nodded. Kakashi knew that the boy couldn't possibly understand exactly why they needed to do this for Molly, but he was perceptive enough to understand that Kakashi had a good reason.

"Let me help you with the tea, Molly," Gaara said.

"You don't have to do anything!" Sakura added, rushing to Gaara's side. "We'll prepare everything for you."

Mrs. Weasley looked a little taken back by the shinobi's offer, but she accepted it all the same. "Well . . . okay, but—"

"I think it's a perfectly good idea." Mr. Weasley put a hand on his wife's shoulder and gently pushed her back into a chair. "The shinobi and I can handle tea for everyone else. All you need to do is entertain our guests."

Gaara stiffened at Arthur's words. "There's no need for you to help us, Mr. Weasley. Your wrist is still healing."

The man merely laughed and brushed the comment aside. "Nonsense. You'll need someone to show you where everything is, won't you? Follow me."

Gaara looked like he was going to protest some more, but he shut his mouth and gave a curt nod. Then the four shinobi plus Mr. Weasley made their way to the kitchen, while everyone else settled into a comfortable position and started chatting about rather mundane but entertaining things. Anything to distract themselves from the horrible reality they would have to face in the morning.

The kitchen was soon alive with laughter. It turned out that Fred and George actually inherited some of their sense of humor from their father. He was unable to help the shinobi because of his wrist, but he told them some hilarious stories, mostly detailing his experiences over the years working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.

Sakura listened to Arthur's stories with rapt interest. She didn't completely understand some of the magical terminology he used, but she was able to get the gist of everything that was said. And now that she was able to actually spend some time with Mr. Weasley, she found herself growing fond of the man. He was very kind and treated her like his own daughter. At one point he even complimented her on her skill during the battle at the wedding. Sakura blushed with the praise. She had initially learned the skill from Tsunade because she was tired of being thought less of just because she was a kunoichi, but now her inhuman strength left those who scoffed at her with their knees buckling from shock and fear.

Kankuro also found himself unable to resist warming up to Mr. Weasley. From the little Kankuro had seen of his fighting ability during the battle at the wedding, he was mildly impressed. He knew wizards weren't on par with shinobi (come on—they used _sticks_ for crying out loud!) but they were certainly more handy than civilians, so he had to give the man that. Arthur also talked about fighting in the Order (which they were apparently bringing up again, and the shinobi were a part of now) and Kankuro couldn't deny that being a member of a vigilante group against a powerful evil force was cool.

It was also refreshing being around Arthur because he acted so . . . _normal_ around them. Kankuro wasn't stupid. He knew that their lifestyles were vastly different, even in the midst of a war. These wizards were certainly up for some hard times ahead, and most likely had some already in the past, but it was different. They never had to _feel_ their enemies' life fade in their hands and know they were responsible. They were never drenched in blood, unable to tell where their enemies' ended and theirs began. And because of that fact, most of the people he'd seen in this dimension treated them differently. Like they were something to be pitied. Mainly that Hermione girl and Molly. Remus, Kingsley, and Arthur seemed pretty okay about it, and Kankuro was grateful for that. Plus, being around Arthur just made Kankuro . . . happy for some reason. The man gave off a comforting presence.

The only one who didn't seem at ease around Mr. Weasley was Gaara. He never was, and still wasn't one to really show emotion; just a few small smiles every now and then with variances in his expression that usually centered around anger, shock, and confusion. He was getting better, but he still had a while to go.

Regardless of that fact, Gaara acted rather closed in the kitchen. He responded in a clipped tone, using as few words as possible. Everyone noticed of course, but they all chose to ignore it, writing it off as fatigue or him just being Gaara.

Once the tea was ready, they all piled into the dining room. As they sipped the calming tea, they all exchanged stories of things that occurred during the wedding. The twins were deeply amused with Kakashi's story of having to deal with Aunt Muriel (she had been escorted home long before the Death Eaters arrived a second time) and couldn't help but tease the shinobi relentlessly about it. Hagrid entertained everyone with his story of how he destroyed an entire row of chairs because he misunderstood Fred's directions of where to sit.

Finally they went to bed, at a much later hour than any of them had anticipated. They all had a hard time actually making it there, too afraid for what tomorrow would bring and wanting to hold on to these happy memories once more. But they all knew it couldn't be avoided, so they lay on their pillows in solemn resignation.

Everything was going to change.

* * *

_Blood . . . screaming . . . death_—

Gaara bolted upright, clutching his head. He gulped in air as sweat poured down his face. It took a few moments to calm himself down. It had been a particularly nasty nightmare this time, not that the others were much better. He had only had five nightmares before this one (though of course he had only properly slept five times since Shukaku was taken from him, but that was beside the point) and he could tell this was the worst one so far. A quick glance outside told him why.

It was a full moon. How his subconscious knew that, Gaara would never know. Shukaku was gone—so why did the horrible images still plague him?

He looked to his left and saw his brother comfortably snoring. Despite Kankuro's insistence that Gaara wake him when he had a nightmare, Gaara was still too nervous to do so. He knew Kankuro wouldn't mind, but he felt horrible waking his brother up from his sleep.

Gaara glanced across the room to where Kakashi was sleeping. Molly had insisted after tea that they take the room Ron and Harry had slept in, while Sakura joined Ginny where Hermione had slept. Even then, they had to conjure a small cot for Kakashi to sleep on. Gaara had offered Kakashi the bed, seeing as how he didn't plan on sleeping anyway, but both Kankuro and Kakashi insisted he take it.

The silver-haired jounin was currently sleeping on his cot with eyes and hands clenched. He wasn't thrashing, which Gaara took as a good sign, but Gaara didn't dare wake him. Anyone with half a brain knew that waking a shinobi posed a risk, and an even greater risk if said shinobi was in the midst of a nightmare. Gaara felt a small twinge of pity for the man and hoped for better dreams.

It was pointless to try and sleep again, so Gaara decided to walk around. Despite the effect the moon had on him, the sight of it would calm him down. Plus a breath of fresh air would be nice. No offense to Ron, but his room smelled of old socks and broom polish. (Naruto had accidentally spilled some all over his bedsheets when they were at Hogwarts, back when Naruto was learning how to ride a broomstick. It was a difficult smell to forget)

He easily made it downstairs without a sound. Once outside, Gaara closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The smell immediately calmed him. It had been surprising how comforting the smell of trees and grass had been that first time he left the desert. It had been on a mission before his first Chunnin Exam, on his first mission outside of Wind Country. Shukaku had certainly been displeased with the change of environment, (Gaara figured it had to do with the lack of sand and greater abundance of water) but Gaara was almost sad to leave when the time came. And no matter what Baki or his siblings said, he knew that coming back to Hogwarts was just what he needed.

Being Kazekage was stressful and hard enough, but he could handle it. Put having to deal with the absence of a demon that had been with him since birth though—not so much. Gaara had often fantasized about how much better life would be without the demon, and while there was a definite improvement, he never expected the types of problems he was dealing with.

For example, he never knew how quiet it would be. Shukaku had constantly talked to him or filled his head with images. It wasn't enough to leave him a worthless vegetable, but it certainly was annoying. Now that the demon was gone, Gaara couldn't help but feel like he was completely alone. It seemed so quiet with just his thoughts.

Gaara was so distracted he almost missed a noise off to his left. He immediately went into a defense position and ducked low to the ground. It was coming from the shed. Gaara closed his eyes for a moment and tried to identify the magical signature, but with all the residue magic from the protective enchantments and the wedding he couldn't get a fix on any one specific signature.

He body-flickered to the partially opened door. A faint beam of light shone through, flickering every so often as the shed's occupant shuffled around inside. Gaara paused for a moment, and before the intruder could take another breath there was a kunai at his throat.

"What are you—" Gaara stopped and quickly backed away when he realized who it was. "I apologize, sir," he said with a stiff bow. "I should have looked at who it was at first."

Mr. Weasley rubbed his throat and took a few deep breaths. "No, uh . . . it's good to know that you um . . . don't waste any time. Were I a Death Eater you shouldn't take any chances."

Gaara gave a curt nod. "Sorry to have bothered you. I'll return to—"

"Now hold up a minute there," Arthur said, lightly pulling Gaara's shoulder. "While you're here, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Gaara stood at attention then quickly folded his arms. He tried to meet Mr. Weasley's gaze but found he couldn't. He chose instead to glance at a strange metal object to his right. "What would you like to speak to me about, sir?"

"Sir?" Now Arthur folded his arms and fixed the shinobi with a suspicious and confused glance. "Since when have I asked any of you to be so formal with me? You seem to refer to everyone else normally. Why keep the formality up with me?" Gaara continued to avoid looking at him, then gave an almost childish shrug. Arthur relaxed his posture and stepped a little closer to Gaara, noting how the boy tensed slightly.

"You've been avoiding me, haven't you?" he asked gently. Gaara looked a little shocked at the statement, but still kept his gaze elsewhere and shook his head. Arthur chuckled softly. "I may not be a shinobi, but I'm the father of six boys. Not much gets past me." A pause. Mr. Weasley crouched down and forced Gaara to look at him. "What is your father like?" he asked softly.

The response was immediate. "I have no father."

Such an abrupt and emotionless reply took Arthur off guard for a moment, but he persisted. "What do you mean by that, Gaara?" he said gently. "You had to have had a father or else—"

"The bastard who helped birth me is no father of mine." Arthur's placating smile faltered at the vulgarity, then turned into a sad frown. From all he had heard and seen about this particular redhead showed that he was a quiet, polite, and almost shy boy. The one standing before him now was nearly a complete opposite, which Arthur took to mean they were discussing a particularly touchy subject.

"And why is that, Gaara?" Arthur prodded. "If you don't mind my asking. Did he . . . did he leave your family?" Gaara shook his head. "Did he . . . hurt you in any way?"

Gaara let out a small grunt. "No. Not exactly. But he tried."

"What do you mean . . . he tried?" Arthur was quite aware that he was most likely stepping in dangerous waters, but Gaara's body language was screaming _I-need-to-talk-about-it-but-I-don't-know-how_. That, and the fact he looked so much like he could be one of the family Arthur couldn't help but let his parental nature kick in.

Gaara was silent and turned his gaze downwards. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Fair enough. How about we sit down? No need for us to keep standing like this." Arthur grabbed two chairs and pushed one towards Gaara. The young redhead stared at the chair for a second, then shook his head. "Are you sure, Gaara?" The boy frowned, then awkwardly grabbed the chair and sat down on it. Arthur took a deep breath. He really didn't know what he was doing, but he knew he had to do something. From what he had heard and seen about these shinobi people, they had a lot of emotional problems. He had overheard Molly and Hermione discussing the shinobi after the Triwizard Tournament, and the young witch said something about them learning how to kill at five-years-old! It seemed rather preposterous to him, but after seeing these strangers in action during the wedding he found he couldn't doubt it.

He also could see why Hermione was so intent on babying them. It was hard for him not to wrap his arms around Gaara and whisper that everything would be all right. Doing so would probably scare the kid off though. Gaara was very different than all the children Arthur had ever interacted with, so he needed to use different tactics to get the boy to open up.

But how should he go about this? He had a pretty good idea as to what Gaara's problem was with him, but how to deal with it? Confront Gaara about it outright, or get the boy to admit it himself? That was the question. After a few more moments of silence, Mr. Weasley figured he might as well just say it.

"Is it that . . . you don't like me because _I'm_ a father?"

Bingo. Arthur watched as Gaara cringed and folded his arms tighter. He clenched his eyes shut then stared at the ground off to the side. Arthur wisely kept his mouth shut, giving Gaara time to speak up first. The shed was completely silent for a few minutes. When Arthur was just about to give up, Gaara spoke.

"It's . . . I-I've never had a problem—before with fathers on my missions but . . . you . . . it makes me mad to see you and . . . and I don't know why."

Arthur gave a crooked smile, one devoid of the usual happiness and more pained. It was comforting to know that the boy didn't outright hate him, but it made him sad to know that Gaara was so confused he didn't know what to do. He could also tell Gaara felt very out of place discussing this with him. Gaara was obviously jealous that Ron and the others had a kind father and he did not, and Arthur couldn't fault him for that. It was a natural reaction. But how to proceed? He couldn't go back in time and get the boy a better father. But there was something he could do now.

"Well, Gaara," he began slowly. "If you don't mind, I know an old trick that might help." Gaara looked hesitant for a moment, then nodded. Arthur stood up and Gaara watched with poorly concealed interest as the wizard started walking towards him. Suddenly Mr. Weasley's arms were around him in a hug.

The redhead just sat there a moment, stiff with shock. The small part of this brain that was working wondered why people in this dimension were so insistent on giving hugs, as if they were the answer to everything. Still, he thought as he returned the hug, it was strangely satisfying. He felt like he'd never get used to hugs, but he would try.

"There, you see?" Arthur pulled away from Gaara with a wide grin. "Bet you feel loads better. And if you ever do want to talk about it, you can always come to me." He had felt incredibly foolish hugging the young boy, especially when he went all rigid like that. but his worries were erased when Gaara returned the gesture.

Arthur reached out and ruffled the boy's hair playfully. "Well, I don't feel like going to bed anytime soon, and I take it you don't either." Truthfully, Arthur was too nervous and energetic to go to bed. His mind was too active and the only way to calm down was through tinkering with his "Muggle Toys." He looked at Gaara with a childish glee in his eyes, then leaned in close as if divulging a secret.

"Have you ever hear of a Muggle device called a vacuum?"

* * *

Harry woke up early the next morning, entangled in his sleeping bag. He frowned. Normally he barely moved an inch in his sleep. Perhaps it had something to do with the strange dream he had. Probably. He didn't remember much, but all he could remember was that he had been chased around by tiny Death Eaters in wedding dresses who would spontaneously erupt into birds like at the wedding, and then he had to watch as Ron danced with Muriel, who's voice sounded like Rita Skeeter.

He shuddered at the memory then rubbed the sleep out of his eye and glanced at Ron and Hermione. Her hand was hanging over the edge of the couch, just inches from where Ron's was. It seemed as if they had fallen asleep holding hands. For some reason the thought made him feel lonely.

Someone chuckled off to his right and Harry's head whipped around, expecting some sort of intruder.

It was only Naruto. The blond had a rather serious case of bed hair and was smirking at Harry as he propped himself up on his elbows. "Want me to hold your hand?"

Harry scoffed and gave Naruto a good-natured punch to the shoulder. "Sod off," he mumbled. That only made Naruto laugh harder, but he kept the voice level down, out of respect for the two sleeping nearby.

"I've been waiting for someone to wake up," he whispered as he unfolded himself from his sleeping bag. He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it and stood up. "This house looks so cool! Wanna go exploring?"

Harry let out a small laugh at Naruto's excitement. Honestly, he would like to get some more sleep, but now that he had woken up there wasn't much of a chance for him to get any more. Besides, he had a feeling he'd just lie there, wallowing in unpleasant thoughts. Ever since Muriel had told him all those terrible things about Dumbledore at the wedding, he couldn't take his mind off them. As much as he wanted to believe they were all false, he found he couldn't do that anymore. Before everything went wrong at the wedding, he had come to the realization that he actually didn't know _anything_ about Dumbledore. They had always talked about Harry, how he was doing, how he was faring with being the sole object of Voldemort's thoughts, etc. Harry had never asked Dumbledore about where he lived or anything like that. He felt a little guilty at that now, and wished he had a chance to ask the man these things, so he wouldn't be doubting him like he was.

Harry shook his head to clear it. No sense in worrying about that now. "Sure. Let's look around."

Naruto beamed. "Let's go!" He bent down and helped Harry untangle himself from the sleeping bag.

The two of them were silent as they walked up the stairs, only pausing to light up their wands to see. Once they reached the second landing, Harry did his best to warn Naruto about some of the interesting things he would encounter in the house, chiefly that he shouldn't wake Mrs. Black's portrait. Naruto had shivered at that one, and promised he most certainly wouldn't. Harry then recalled Naruto's dislike of moving pictures and found he understood. He had been rather unsettled himself when he first learned that wizard pictures had a life of their own. He had gotten so used to them though that they didn't faze him, but for someone like Naruto without much experience it had to be unnerving.

The continued their walk around the second landing as Harry regaled Naruto with stories of what it had been like when they purged the house of all Dark Objects, but stopped when they came to Sirius's door. Naruto frowned at Harry's sudden pause, but understood when he saw the nameplate. He gave Harry's shoulder a light squeeze and continued on. Harry took a deep breath and pushed open the door, wondering what he'd find.

* * *

The next morning came all too soon for most. After a pleasant breakfast they got down to work. Kingsley had sent word he'd join them as soon as he could. Things at the Ministry were very bad, not that it would ever make the papers of course. They were in the process of transferring all power to the Death Eaters and Kingsley promised to make them all aware of the changes when he came. Remus and Tonks left after breakfast, with the task of informing other members of the Order just what had happened. The Delacours left as well, promising to do what they could with those who lived near them.

The most important thing they could do now was let people know what was really going on. At the moment, truth was their greatest asset. They needed to bring as many people as they could to their side before the people were lured into a false sense of security. Fred and George also left, promising to return with as many of their Defense Against the Dark Arts Products as they could, along with a solution on how to reach the general public without the Death Eaters finding out. When questioned, they merely smiled and wagged their fingers like one would to a naughty child.

_"It's a secret!"_ they answered. However, in the interest of safety and to help bring all their supplies, Kankuro left with them. After learning about how the Weasley twins' joke shop supplied the Ministry with such objects, Kakashi pointed out that Voldemort could have some interest in them. Molly quickly agreed to Kakashi's suggestion, and surprisingly the twins were fine with it.

The reason was apparent to most, and before they left Gaara pulled his brother aside and warned him of the twins' prankster tendencies. Kankuro just laughed at his brother's concern and assured him that he'd be fine. It was then that Gaara realized his brother might be just as excited about getting to know the twins as they were with him. All of the sudden, Gaara wondered about the logic of leaving those three together.

With breakfast cleared away the room was instantly transformed into a war room, where numerous scrolls, maps, and lists were all strewn about the table. There were also various floating whiteboards where Arthur and Kakashi were tacking up maps. Once everyone was seated, they began.

The hardest part was figuring out just _where_ to begin. There were so many factors to take into account. What would be the Ministry's first plan of attack? Whom should they contact first? Would people even believe them? How should they go about protecting the England Prime Minister? What other countries would Voldemort set his sights on? What should be done about Hogwarts?

After nearly an hour of discussion, it was decided that securing Hogwarts and starting up protection for Muggle-born witches and wizards was of top priority. Considering the Death Eater's stance on pure wizard blood, they speculated it would be the first thing the Ministry would address. Hagrid left to go and make sure the Death Eaters hadn't already had their way with the castle, and on the way he would bring all the other professors and staff with him. They all knew it was a matter of time before the Death Eaters invaded (most likely on the order of the "Ministry" itself) but they planned on being ready for them.

As for informing the Muggle-borns, that was a bit more tricky. First off, there were quite a number of them in their society. And then there was the question of how far down the line were people going to be persecuted? Would the Death Eaters also go after a Muggle-born's children? Grandchildren? Great-grandchildren? And by extent, would a Muggle-born's parents be targeted? How far up the line would that go? Since Death Eaters were under the impression that a Muggle-born received their magic by stealing from a "real" wizard, it was hard to decide just how far the Death Eater's prejudice would go.

They deliberated for a while until a decision was reached. For the moment they would just inform direct Muggle-borns, and leave it up to them to tell their immediate family. Once they informed as many people as they could, then they could start informing those with older relatives whom were Muggle-born.

The first stage would take the longest. If they clued the Death Eaters in to what they were doing then they could force their hand and the Death Eaters wouldn't sit back anymore. They'd capture them immediately and without warning. And so they had to go about this in a roundabout way. Arthur would casually warn his Muggle-born friends at the Ministry since they were likely to be the first targets, and in turn they would tell their friends. At the same time, Ginny (accompanied by Sakura) would inform her friends from Hogwarts through way of visiting their houses under pretense of a friendly visit. Likewise, she would encourage them to warn their friends. This plan would only be successful if everyone worked together.

By the time they were finished discussing and planning out which people they would contact first and how, it was already evening. This time no one complained at Molly's suggestion to retire, and they all collapsed on their beds with barely enough energy to pull the sheets over themselves.

* * *

The next day, Kakashi was out in the backyard, doing a rigorous Gai-influenced workout. (Not that he would ever, _ever_ in a million years admit it to the green devil) He would have preferred an actual fighting spar, but with Kankuro with the twins, Sakura with Ginny, and Gaara out shopping with Molly, he was left all alone. He could use kage bunshin, but that had grown old when he was eight.

It had been decided that Kakashi and Gaara were to remain in the house for as long as possible, since they were more easily recognizable. Gaara would be able to accompany Molly occasionally to get groceries as a concealed guard, since his likeness to the Weasley's could be passed off as a visiting cousin, so long as his tattoo and dark circles under his eyes were taken care of. They had already decided on giving him a false name and pretense for being there. If anyone asked, "Larry" was staying with the Weasley's while his parents were on a vacation.

"Kakashi!" The jounin paused in mid push-up then broke into a wide smile.

"Good to see you, Remus." Kakashi gracefully pushed himself into a standing position and grabbed a hand towel. "What brings you here so soon? Did something go wrong with your mission?"

Remus shook his head. "No, we were able to contact quite a few of the old Order members, and in turn they promised to contact other members. Right now Tonks is with her parents, and I've got another mission."

He came to Kakashi's side and dropped a small duffel bag on the ground. "I'm going to update Harry and the others. Let them know we're all fine and not to worry." Remus paused and stared at Kakashi. "You get that in one of your battles?" he asked, indicating the large, jagged scar on Kakashi's right arm.

"Something like that," Kakashi said. He quickly wiped all the sweat off his forehead and nodded at Remus. "I'm sure you've had your fair share of scars though."

"S'pose you're right—though mine tend to be more self-inflicted I guess. Anyways, I just wanted to see if you were interested in joining me and see Naruto or something. If so, you should probably pack a few things, since it might take a few days because I've got a Death Eater on my tail."

"Makes sense." Kakashi sighed and rolled his shoulder. "If it weren't so important that I keep a low profile at the moment, I'd go with you, but I think it's best if I stay behind. Someone needs to make sure headquarters doesn't go up in smoke. And I'd take care of that Death Eater if I could," he laughed. "Though that might send even more of them after you."

Remus laughed nervously. The thought of Death Eaters wanting to seek revenge for a fallen comrade against something he didn't do, didn't seem all that funny to him. But Kakashi had a point and only had his best interests at heart he figured. "Well . . ." Remus said, "I suppose I'll see you around, though it most likely won't be for a while."

Kakashi smirked. "I understand. You'll be spending too much time with Tonks and the new baby, right?"

"Wh-what?" Remus stared at Kakashi in absolute shock. "How did you know?" Tonks wasn't that far along and her stomach hardly bulged. How did this guy know what only four other people did?

"I could smell it," Kakashi said. "To make sure, I took a look at her stomach with my Sharingan. I could easily see she had another life growing inside of her. I hope you don't mind—I promise I haven't told anyone else."

Remus shook his head. "No, I'm not mad. You just took me by surprise is all."

"Say hello and congratulations to Tonks for me when you see her," Kakashi said. He picked Remus' bag off the ground and handed it to him. "I'll do my best to keep you from doing too much stuff with the Order so you can be with her."

"Well, um . . ." Remus glanced down at his hands. "I was wondering if . . . perhaps you could look out for Tonks for me? Perhaps check in on her everyone once . . . in a . . . while . . ?"

Kakashi frowned. "What do you mean? It can't take _that_ long to find Harry, right? We all agreed the most likely place they'd be is Grimmauld Place, and I promise I'll do what I can to make sure you don't go on too many missions . . ." Kakashi's gaze hardened. "You're not planning on going home, are you?"

When Remus glanced to the ground in shame, Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "So that's your plan then? You want to join Harry and his friends on their quest? You want to have fun and taste some glory while your wife stays at home and cares for your firstborn child herself? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Kakashi closed the distance between them, leaned in, and whispered, "Go on. If you want to be a coward, then be my guest. I won't stop you."

It was as if a switch went off in Remus's brain. His eyes nearly glowed yellow, and his upper lip curled into a snarl. He actually pushed the jounin back a few feet with startling strength. Kakashi had no idea what a werewolf looked like, but he was starting to get a clue.

"You have _no_ idea what it's like! My kind is considered vermin in the Wizarding World! And what's worse is that I've passed on that curse to an innocent child! Don't you see? I've turned both my wife and child into outcasts! I _never_ should have married her!" Remus yanked at his hair, looking rather deranged.

"My kind aren't even supposed to breed! How can I subject a child to this sort of—"

Kakashi decided he had heard enough. He grabbed Remus by the shirt and leaned in close to where their noses were practically touching. "I understand how you're concerned for turning your son half-werewolf, but what I don't understand is how you think _abandoning_ him is going to solve the problem! And for your information I know a little more about this subject then you'd think." His expression softened a little.

"My father committed suicide when I was barely eight. He _left _me alone in the world without any care as to what would happen to me. All he could think about was himself, and he took the easy way out, like you are now." He let go of Remus and pushed him to the ground. Then he leapt into the air and was gone.

Remus just sat there for a moment, letting Kakashi's words wash over him. Then he slowly picked himself up, and made his way back towards the house.

* * *

**Uh, sorry for ending on a bit of a sour note there, with the part about Remus and all. I could have put more in, but I just got to the point where I couldn't write anymore and I figured you good people had waited long enough.**

**Don't you just love Mr. Weasley? I know I do. That little Gaara moment was for **SilverMistKunoichi**'s request. Hope you liked it!**** XD I'm having so much fun writing the stuff that Rowling didn't touch upon! This is going to be awesome. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

**Oh, and Kankuro's and the twins' journey shall most definitely be addressed in the next chapter, so no need to worry. As well as Sakura's journey with Ginny. I promise I haven't forgotten about those two!  
**

**A note for **Neko4—**you are the 600th reviewer. I tried to send you a PM to remind you, but for one thing there's so much on your profile page that it always freezes my computer, and the second is that you don't seem to have a PM feature. You can respond with what request you want in a review, or you could adjust your account to allow PM features. I'm afraid you'd have to send one to me first though, because my computer will always freeze since there appears to be so much stuff on your page. **

Anonymous Reviewers Time!

Mesonoxian: Thanks for the review! Heck yeah, Naruto's awesome!

Alicia: Glad you liked it! And I really am sorry about not including Sasuke, but I'm having enough trouble balancing all these characters, and thanks for understanding that. Awww, I'm so glad I have a loyal legion of patient fans! :) I keep disappointing you though with these infrequent updates.

NWFiredragon: Well, thank you so much. No IT DOESN'T COST ANYTHING! :) That's the beauty of this site—poor people like me can write stories! :D You should totally get an account! And I did the insight right? Yay! I try really hard to get into the minds of the characters, so it's great to know I'm doing well. And you liked the romance bit? Sweet. I'm not too skilled in the romance area, but with recent events I might be delving into that realm! (_shhhhhh_—it's a secret XD) Heh, yeah-I'm sure a lot of people were pissed at me with that little bit there with Dolohov, but a good amount of people were able to see what I was trying to do with the introspective bit. I wasn't able to convince everyone though, but such is the way with writing fanfiction. Awww, they are? You're so sweet! These reviews just make my day. :D

krazypuppy8: Heh, I hope you're also patient for this update as well! There is just WAY too much work that goes into these stories, especially this one right here. A heck of a lot more than NGoF. It's crazy! Will Naruto go Kyuubi? I'm thinking so. :) Though not too much, because I want to work on him shying away from relying on that power too much. It will be small, but it will definitely be in there.

Anonymous (2): Yeah, angst is good every one in a while, and this was Naruto's turn to be angsty. But as you can see in this chapter—he wasn't! I promise he's not going emo on us—it's just that everyone has their bad and good days. I did well with the characters? Awesome! I have so much fun writing different personalities. And Gaara/Luna ftw! I'm dying to do some drawings of them, but it's hard combining a real life person, you know? I suck at turning real life into cartoon. :( But I'll keep trying! And with you reviewing twice, why don't you just get an account so we can chat! :) We can use the PM feature and discuss FMA! :) Happy New Year to you as well. I hope the chapter was as good! I tried.

Anonymous: (I'm not sure if you're the same person as above, but I'm going to respond as if you're different, just in case) Of course I did! FMA is so awesome! Though, as I'm writing this I hope FMA isn't over by the time I update the story. XD Let's hope not. And it certainly was super awesome! For cryin' out loud—why don't you get a membership? You don't have to write stories but at least we can chat back and forth! :( I wanna discuss things with you. And Happy Belated Valentines' Day to you as well!

Anonymous: Again, I think you're just the same person and I apologize for having you review three times to get me to update! :( It's just so crazy. Things have been going great-so nothing to worry about.

tooLazy: Yeah, gotta feel bad for Naruto. And the reason behind Gaara acting a little crazy is because he's never been in luv before and he's very confused with these feelings he has for Luna. It's going to take a while for him to actually come to the proper conclusion, because he's just clueless in these areas. As for what happened to Kankuro, it was just a spell that made him gently unconscious. Like Stupefy but different. I'm not going to make up a name for it because . . . there's no need to.

Umm... Call me Lilly: Hey Lilly! :) I'm glad you like the pairing! Yeah, anything involving Luna is crazy. I was worried about have an interdimensional pairing, but for some reason this just works.

Omega Shinobi: Heehee—you're absolutely right about the whole Gaara/Luna thing, and I find it interesting that you see something like a Hermione/Naruto pairing. See, I think CLAMP is a genius, both in their writing styles and art, and if you've read any of their work you know that they like to tease their readers with a variety of pairings, and that's just what I'm going to do. This mainly will have Sakura/Naruto, but I'm going to give little teasers of Naruto and other women and stuff like that. XD The one I have in mind for Kakashi is going to blow everyone's minds though!

Just_Me: I've converted you? Yes! Though, I should warn you that I've only converted you to good crossovers. XD See, this whole little adventure started out because I was sick and tired of reading bad crossovers and I wanted to show that it can be done. It's insane and dangerous and a freakin' huge amount of work, but it can be done. :) And thanks for liking the pairing! I have to admit it sneaked up on me. I just thought they'd be cute at the dance, and then when I started writing the sequel they just sorta . . . came together. It was totally out of my control. I'm also going to have a lot of fun developing their relationship and seeing where it goes. :) And as for the suggestion for Sakura, I'm sure that I can put a little of that in there. XD Have her pine(sp?) since she's been gone from him so long. Yikes, analyzing poems for six hours? That sucks. And I'm so happy that I was able to brighten your day! I always luv getting updates for my favorite stories and so I'm glad I'm able to pass the feeling on. :) And when people review, it adds a little sunshine to my day as well! :D

Kisa: Gaara/Luna is awesome! I am converting so many people to the pairing it's awesome. I totally agree about Gaara! He's so awesome and I feel horrible for him with his past and all. And thanks for the confidence in my version of the parts that JK didn't touch up on. I've always been curious and I hope that everyone likes what I write! Awww, thank you so much! We definitely need to meet up at Banzai. And of course you can keep the picture! :) I'm going to be going as Lenalee Lee from and then Kurogane from Tsubasa, so look for me! And as for suggestions for you, hmmm . . . . I don't see any problem with going as another Akatsuki member, though if you do want to do something different you certainly have the time to do so. It isn't until October! (And you need to get an account so I can talk to you!)

marco: Gracias para tu review. I don't know too much Spanish, so I apologize if I said something wrong.

Nordlicht: Wow, three days? I applaud you for spending so much time on that! :) And here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long.

narusaku: Muchas gracias para tu review. Again, I'm not too great at Spanish, so I apologize. I also have a hard time understanding just what you're saying, but thanks anyway! :)

gaaraluna3: Thank you so much! :) I know I already told actressforever to say something to you, but why not here as well? I'm so glad you enjoy the story, and I thank you again for helping me with that mistake. I try to get whatever I can but some things just need an outside person's help. I know what it's supposed to be so I guess my mind just automatically fixes it without my knowing.

cyclone13: Thanks for the review! Yeah, I can't wait to show you guys all these ideas I have! It's hard to keep them a secret until it appears in the appropriate chapter.

happy reader: Heh, yeah I could tell! :) I hope I haven't changed you from a happy reader to an angry reader from my lack of updates. ^^;

AmohoneyComb: Awww, thank you so much! :D I'm so pleased you're enjoying the story so far, and thanks for being so understanding about my horrible updating schedule. I do need to work on that now, considering that it's summer for me. I'll do everything I can to make the next update be faster. And thanks as well for understanding my need to have this chapter a bit dark, and it's nice to know you like my dare to be a little angsty at times. XD There will be some humor of course, but since this is a wartime there will be more angst and dark than the first crossover. Thanks again!

Danni: No need to worry at all! I understand your concern. :) What I meant by being obsessed with KHR was that I was just reading the manga for a while, not that I was starting another story. XD This story right here takes precedence over any new story. Sorry for the confusion

(blank): ^^; Yeah, I'm all right. Just busy. Thanks for the hug though! Glad you like the Gaara/Luna stuff. And I'm sorry this chapter was so long in coming!


	7. Chapter 7: Separate Missions

**Sorry it's late! I know most of you are probably pissed at my updating schedule—but such is life. This is something I do for fun, not a paid job. It's not like I prefer it this way though, believe me. Oh well. I'm doing the best I can. I _do _feel really bad though, honest.  
**

**And just warnin' ya****—this is a LONG one. Longest one yet. 14,000+ words! But I suppose that's what you want, right? :)  
**

**Reviewers! Thank you so much!** sam110, yarra, Smoochynose, Whitemagic58, Lord Rebecca-Sama, fayfan, Game-girl209, Annoying Little Twit, birningice, Pissed Off Irish Chick, Phantom-Danny, Hitokiri Shinzui, Lightningscar, TiinyDottTee, josh198888, Payce99, Damatris, Rakusgosha, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Magus Zanin, Kirai-Ninja, Anki-Shai, Orihime-San, BluesEclipse, actressforever, NinjaShives, Rena Walker, Chasing, Taryn Streambattle, ultima-owner (6), BetahimeTsukiko, KakashiKrazed, Obiki Doragon, ChainedReactions, SHARPIE addict, Kisa, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, AyaseFanGirl, Moonfayth, candyman123, Dragon Alchemist, Hikari Serafina, Mesonoxian, quintupledots915, Duder Skanks, Hirochick, xxxShiRo, Ilovebleach10212, ANBU's Golden Lioness, Raye of the Sunshine, The Hidden Girl, AkaiPyon, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Yumetaka Kourui, (), Mafkeesje, Octopus123, AvatardsUniteMM, Pammi0hime, Soraya the All Speaker, lil noir neko, AnimeFallingStar, Isana, Crowfether, Littlefoxx567, GreyFitti, LaRire, Tobito Uchiha (2), Namikazelil, Crysanth, airnaruto45, The Laughing Phoenix, pamellka, Anonymous12 3, Kera Cronda, TheFabulousLMH, Phoinex Warrior, Tolazytologin, smile, pinkfuzzyflipflops, nanashiindou, Vampire Kurama, Merry Poppis, GreekFoddessHestia, Azusa-Angel, Lily Moonston, Lena7213, Canna-Chan, Drk Kitsune, DualX, princess-oro, Conan's best deduction, crazzyredhead, ninja-fox, Venus914 (3), Matthew Blackheart, sanmitamaya (2), **and** SaKuRa-Blossom29!

Payce99 **was the 650th reviewer and asked for a Gaara/Kakashi/Arthur fatherly moment which will happen later, **XspriteyX **was the 1300th reviewer of NGoF and asked for Gaara's cookie addiction to be brought up and that shall be addressed in this chapter, and **Soraya the All Speaker **was the 700th reviewer and asked for the way the Weasley twins defeated the Snatchers which will be addressed later on in the story. (don't want to spoil it for you now)**

**Once again, I'm still waiting to here from **Neko4, Thais of the Star, Azali-Kauriu, **and **XXxXXLuciXXxXX **what they want for their requests.**

* * *

**And just as a heads-up and thank you, two authors have written little oneshots to go along with this little universe I've created. The first is by **animegirl1994**, and if you can, think back to NGoF where "Moody" used the Imperius Curse in chapter 4. When he used it on Gaara, he tried to get him to sing. **animegirl1994 **wrote the lyrics to the song he could have sung, to the tune of "My Favorite Things" by Julie Andrews and the fanfiction title is "**gaara singing? what has the world come to!**"  
**

**The second goes with the last NDH chapter, where Harry has a dream of being chased around by miniature Death Eaters. **TiinyDottTee **wrote that story, entitled "**Harry's Dream.**" The links for both stories can be found in my profile, if you so desire to read them. Thanks so much guys!**

**

* * *

**

**SUMMARY:** Remus is sent to Konoha on behalf of the Order to ask for shinobi to guard the Trio as they embark on their quest. To get Gaara to come along with Kakashi and Naruto, Sakura and Kankuro are brought along as well. Their help will be divided as follows: Naruto with the Trio, Kakashi to help the Order, and the remaining three to help at Hogwarts. Their first item of business is to help at Bill and Fleur's wedding, which gets interrupted by Death Eaters because the Ministry has completely fallen into the hands of Voldemort. Naruto and the Trio escape while those left behind fight off the Death Eaters. No one is injured badly, save for Kankuro's pride when he was taken by surprise by a nonverbal spell, having no previous knowledge of the sort. The Trio + Naruto are accosted by two Death Eaters, and after Naruto's insistence, they bring one with them to Grimmauld place. There, they learn that Voldemort has placed a taboo on his name so that anyone who says it will be surrounded by his followers. Their hideout is almost discovered by Voldemort, but thanks to Naruto's quick thinking they are saved. Unfortunately, having to torture has a negative effect on Naruto, but thanks to the wizards he is able to overcome it. Gaara has a fatherly moment with Mr. Weasley, and Kakashi has a heated discussion with Remus Lupin after learning he was planning to abandon his wife and unborn baby to help Harry. Meanwhile, the Order is making plans to get the word out about what has befallen the Ministry and hope to warn Muggle-born witches and wizards so they don't become targets of Voldemort's new regime.

**

* * *

**

Kankuro had to admit he was rather annoyed. It was their second day traveling and they weren't even at the joke shop yet! After leaving yesterday morning, the twins had Apprurated or whatever the hell the word was—and they landed in some neighborhood that was obviously a wizard town if the children zooming by on broomsticks was anything to go by. The two brothers went around making small talk with a few people until they arrived at one house which belonged to someone named Lee Jordan. Kankuro liked him enough—until he and the twins teamed up against him.

The shinobi would never look at pineapples the same way again.

When Kankuro's patience ran out_ (meaning—within seconds after the prank)_ he demanded to know why they were wasting their time here and not going to the joke shop. He did so while simultaneously hanging the three of them upside down from the ceiling with chakra strings. Rather than realize the precarious situation they were in, the twin wizards told him cheekily that this was an important part of their mission, because Lee had some information on a project they were working on and they had to discuss it before gathering their things. And they wanted to make sure there were no Death Eaters following them. It took Kankuro a few minutes to think it over before he reluctantly let the boys down_. _Safely, of course. What irked the shinobi was how smug the three looked after his admission.

However, Kankuro took care of that when he used his "magical" ability to trip the three boys into a muddy puddle.

Thankfully, the next day they made their way over to Diagon Alley. It looked like a dump to Kankuro, but the twins explained that before the Death Eaters took over, it was actually a really beautiful place. He decided to take their word on it. They stopped in front of a large building that looked to once be very bright and exciting, but the colors had long since faded, the windows were shattered, and a flickering sign hung lopsided as it swung back and forth with the small breeze. He had no idea what it said, but he supposed it had to be the twin's joke shop. Suddenly, Kankuro felt bad for the twins. He figured this meant a lot to them.

"Look um . . . I'm real sorry your place got trashed like this."

"Huh?" The twins turned around to look at him. "What do you mean?" George followed his gaze upwards and laughed.

"Oh, you mean the shop? Don't worry about it, mate."

"But it's all ruined!"

Fred chuckled. "Of course it is—we're the ones who did it!"

Kankuro's mouth fell open comically. "_You_ did? But why—"

"If we didn't do it, then the Death Eaters or someone else would, so why not beat 'em to the punch?"

"This way they'll stay away from the shop and wouldn't want to ransack the place," Fred explained.

"They'd think everything of value was already taken," George said, "and then if anyone _did _have the urge to snoop around, we hid everything."

Fred snorted. "And the best thing is that it's all hidden in plain sight!" George slung an arm around him and they made their way into the building, laughing all the way. Unable to see the humor, Kankuro just sighed and followed them. Once they grabbed the stuff, they'd be able to go back to the Burrow.

Turns out the twins had hidden everything in the walls, and all it took was a flick of their wands and there was a large hole, revealing boxes upon boxes of colorful . . . _things _that Kankuro had no idea as to even guess as to what they were. So he merely hung back as the twins argued over what supplies they should bring back now and what supplies they should come back for later. Whenever they reached a decision, they tossed that particular product into one of the three boxes they had taken from one end of the shop.

Thoroughly bored, Kankuro found himself curious about the products and bent over to peer at a stack of small, cylindrical boxes. They were still in the wall, but the twins hadn't made their way down this far yet. He stole a glance at the twins who were examining a box with what looked to be pills decorated all over it, then picked up one of the containers. He couldn't read what it said, but he didn't care.

The shinobi carefully unscrewed the lid only to find white powder inside. Disappointed, Kankuro started to put the lid back on but he had the misfortune to sneeze right then, the layer of dust covering everything finally getting to him. He had the sense to close his eyes, but the white powder flew in the air and some got on him. Before Kankuro could apologize, he found himself overcome with a powerful itching sensation all over his body. He yelped and hopped up and down as he tried to appease the horrible feeling.

As expected, the twins erupted into fits of laughter. Kankuro knew how silly he probably looked, but at the moment his only concern was to stop the itching. "Ah—it—STOP—I can't—HELP ME!" Fred lazily twirled his wand in Kankuro's direction and the pain immediately stopped. Kankuro wheezed and quickly backed away from the spilled container.

"What the hell was that, man?" he asked once he had calmed down enough.

"Itching powder," George said. He wiped his eyes. "I've got to say that we were trying to figure out a way to hex you, but looks like you went and did it for us!" He started laughing again and held onto Fred's arm, who was staring at Kankuro with a twinkle in his eye—but it wasn't the jolly sort mind you. It was more of the mischievous_ you're-my-prey-and-I-want-to-mess-with-you_ sort of twinkle. Despite the fact that these twins weren't shinobi, Kankuro couldn't help but feel a small twinge of fear. He swallowed and yelled at the two to finish deciding on what they wanted to bring.

They finally left about thirty minutes later, and Kankuro couldn't be more relieved.

"So these . . . toys will help you fight that Voldemort guy?" Kankuro said, sparing a glance at the large box he carried.

The twins looked offended.

"Did he just call our beautiful inventions _toys,_ dear brother?"

"Why I believe so. How cruel!"

George jabbed a finger at him. "Now listen here, cat-boy—" _(Kankuro was unable to keep his eye from twitching. Ever since they took off on this ridiculous adventure they had been referring to him that way)_

"—these inventions here are a stroke of genius!" Fred finished.

"Oh yeah?"

"Certainly." Fred pulled out something that looked like some kind of wind-up toy. "For example, a Decoy Detonator. Perfect for a—"

Kankuro held up a hand and glanced all around them. Then all of a sudden five people appeared out of nowhere. Fred and George took a step back and swore.

_"Bloody hell."_

"How in the hell did they find us, man?" Kankuro had been absolutely positive that they hadn't been followed. The only other person here was an old beggar man asleep in the alley behind them. Perhaps it was just a coincidence?

Either way, there were five people standing before them who were undoubtedly enemies. Kankuro only recognized the one standing in front, acting like the leader. The shinobi recognized him as one of the people who attacked during the wedding.

"You need to come with us," the man said. He raised his wand threateningly and Kankuro could tell this guy meant business. His fingers were just itching to fight him. The memory of his earlier defeat stood out clearly at the front of Kankuro's mind. This was his chance to get his honor back, and only this man's death would suffice.

"You wanna go?" Kankuro challenged. He set the box down next to a building and took a step forward. "'Cause you—"

"Oh no!"

"We're gonna die!"

Fred and George let out a combined shriek that was far too girlie for Kankuro's tastes and each grabbed one of his arms.

"All hope is lost!" they wailed.

A quick glance at their enemies let Kankuro know he wasn't the only one put off by the twins' display, except to his disgust it looked like the guys actually _bought_ it. They were puffing out their chests, firmly believing they had actually frightened two of their opponents half to death. Only the Death Eater rolled his eyes at the exchange, signaling to Kankuro that he was the only intelligent one of the group.

_"You take the Death Eater,"_ George whispered.

_"We'll take care of the rest."_

Kankuro gave a barely perceptible nod and decided he might as well go along with the twins' antics. He was curious to see what they would do. And so he swallowed his pride and recalled the image of Temari coming after him with her fan after he had mixed glue in with her facial cream. That had been truly horrifying.

_"_L-look here guys—" (_wow, that image sure was doing its job—he had to remind himself not to duck for incoming fans)_ "—w-we don't want no trouble."

"Oh yeah?" one of the men sneered. Kankuro decided to call him Idiot #1. "Well it don't matter what you want, since—"

Before he could finish speaking, in one fluid motion the twins left go of Kankuro's arms, reached into their jackets, and threw something down on the ground. Kankuro had enough sense to body-flicker to the top of the closest building, and his mouth dropped open in shock and amazement. The entire area was covered in a pitch black smoke. Not even he could see through it. He could still sense people though, but he was near giddy with excitement. It was the ultimate smoke bomb. He made a mental note to ask the twins how they did that later.

Those trapped inside the smoke, however, didn't share Kankuro's enthusiasm. They yelped in fear and moved closer together, clutching their wands like a lifeline. They had enough wits about them to know not to fire off randomly, in the chance that they'd hit each other or cause a rebound and injure themselves in the process. All they could do was wait for the smoke to clear and pray their targets were as incapacitated as they were. There was just one problem with their plan though.

They were dealing with Fred and George Weasley.

"Look at them, brother dear."

"All huddled together like frightened rabbits."

"Certainly not as cuddly though."

"Quite. Rats might be a more apt description for them, now that I think about it."

"I do believe you are correct, dear brother. I suppose these are living examples of the phrase 'a face only a mother could love?'"

"Those mothers must have constitutions of steel though, to be able to bear looking at faces like that."

There was no real origin of the voices, as far as the men could tell. They were all encompassing, seeming to come from all directions. That alone set their nerves on edge, and more than a few were taking offense to the blatant attack to their appearance, not to mention their mothers. And as everyone knows, insulting one's mother is the worst insult one man can give another.

"This could also explain why they're hanging around low-lives like old Voldy."

"True. It seems the cliche that lackeys are always the hideous ones has more merit than we originally thought."

"ENOUGH! _Avada Kedavra!_" One of the men took a blinded step forward and aimed his wand in the direction he thought the voices came from.

"Tut, tut. Rather poor aim for an old chap like you."

"Missed me by a mile."

"Let's see how _my_ aim is, shall we?"

The men all tensed, wildly glancing around in the pitch darkness. They didn't have to wait for long.

"GAH! My eyes!" One of them fell backwards, knocking over two others in the process.

"Merlin's beard, it was just a dung bomb. No reason to get so upset."

The man who had fired off the curse before took another step forward. "All right—that's enough! I'm going to kill both of you here and now!" And then he started firing off curse after curse in every direction, disregarding the safety of his comrades. Soon there was nothing but chaos as the four men tripped and cursed one another.

By the time the smoke cleared, the only two standing were Fred and George, who merely inspected their handiwork.

"I must say that went better than anticipated," Fred said, taking off his goggles.

George nodded, doing the same. "Nice and easy. We didn't even have to use a wand."

The key to their success lay in the specialty made goggles slung around their necks. No one else knew, but during the battle at Hogwarts a few months ago, they . . . "liberated" one Draco Malfoy of his Hand of Glory—purely for research purposes mind you. Once they learned it was capable of making the user see through their product, it made them all the more eager to have it. It took a long time, but eventually they were able to isolate the property and they incorporated it into their goggles. Why not give them an edge? With the inevitable war against Voldemort, they decided it would be in their best interests to develop a countermeasure against their own product for their side.

They hadn't had time to test it on a large scale yet though, but after today it was obvious they were a success. All Fred and George had to do was put the goggles on and walk around the men. The twins took advantage of the echoes in the street to spook their opponents, and once one of them finally went nuts, all they had to do was duck and take cover until the onslaught was over. Pure and simple wipe-out, Weasley-style.

Kankuro did not have the luxury of enjoying the show the twins were putting on, because the Death Eater had escaped the smoke with him. He glanced over at the Death Eater and grinned. "I'm glad you weren't taken as easily as your worthless subordinates, man. Wouldn't want to miss out on a good fight."

The Death Eater grinned back. "Once I defeat you, I will bring you and your friends back to the Dark Lord where you will pay for your insubordination."

Kankuro bent low into a defensive stance and gave the man one of his reserved battle smiles—one that promised death for his opponents.

"Oh—I'd like to see you try."

* * *

Naruto was brought out of his trance at Hermione's shout for Ron. At first he had just been exploring, but then he noticed something odd. It looked like someone had been searching for something. At first Naruto had dismissed it as normal clutter, but then when he noticed the dust had been disturbed he started looking a bit more carefully. He searched for any traces of a magical signature and to his disgust it was Snape's. There was hardly anything to go on, but Naruto just knew it to be Snape. He nearly growled at the revelation. But what in the world could he stand to gain from the Black house?

Oh well—maybe Harry and the others would know. Naruto left the small guest bedroom he was in and walked back to Sirius' room. To his surprise, the three wizards were actually in a different room, and if Naruto was reading the nameplate correctly, it was Regulus Black's.

". . . supposed to find it then?" asked Ron.

"We search manually," said Hermione.

"That's a good idea," said Ron, rolling his eyes. He then started looking behind a pair of black curtains.

Naruto fully stepped into the room. "Uh . . . what are you guys doing? Are you looking for the same thing Snape was looking for?"

Harry turned to him, puzzled. "Snape? What do you mean?"

The shinobi jabbed a finger behind him. "It seems like someone has been searching for something and judging by the leftover magical signature it was Snape. What would he want?"

"Probably information on the Order," Harry scoffed as he continued searching through the clothing drawers. Naruto watched the three of them search before clearing his throat.

"Well then, what are _you _guys looking for?"

"The real Horcrux," Ron said offhandedly, making his way over to the emerald and silver bed covers.

"It's a locket with an 'S' on it and is a bit of a faded, golden color," Hermione added. She was flipping through the books on the bookshelf.

"Oi." Naruto folded his arms and fixed them all with a serious expression when they turned to look at him. "I think it's time you told me just what it is you guys are doing exactly. If I'm going to be protecting you I need to know what you know."

The three of them looked a little ashamed at that. "Yeah, guess you're right, mate," Ron said.

"We'll tell you once we've found that locket," Harry promised. "It's _very_ crucial to what we're doing."

"How about you show him the fake one, Harry," said Hermione.

"Oh, right." Harry reached into a pouch hung around his neck and pulled it out. "This is just a replica of what we're looking for."

Naruto reached out for the locket and closely examined it. The design was rather distinguishable, and it looked like the green 'S' in the middle was modeled after a snake. Naruto nearly groaned. Really, what was it about snakes that attracted all of his worst enemies?

"All right," he said, handing the locket back to Harry. "I'll help you look for it." Then he held his hands in a 'T' and said, "_Kage bunshin no jutsu!_" A few puffs of smoke later and there were two more Narutos in the room.

"I've forgotten how wicked that is," Ron laughed.

"Okay!" Naruto said. "Let's go find that locket!"

Despite the extra help from the other Narutos they continued to search for another hour with no luck. They nearly triple-checked everything, but were finally forced to admit that it wasn't there. Needless to say they were quite disheartened, but Hermione and Naruto remained determined.

"Come on, if it's that important to you guys we can't stop looking!" Naruto said as they walked back downstairs. They had unanimously decided that breakfast was in order.

"Naruto's right!" Hermione said. "Regulus could have hidden is anywhere in this house, so we need to look everywhere." Ron and Harry groaned at this but Hermione glared at them. "Whether he'd managed to destroy it or not, he'd want to keep it hidden from Voldemort, wouldn't he? Remember all those awful things we had to get rid of when we were here last time? That clock that shot bolts at everyone and those old robes that tried to strangle Ron; Regulus might have put them there to protect the locket's hiding place, even though we didn't realize it at . . . at . . ."

The three boys stopped and looked at Hermione who merely stood there with one foot in the air, looking as if she was struck dumb with a _Confundus _charm or _Obliviate_.

" . . . at the time," she finished in a whisper.

"What are you talking about?" the boys asked in unison.

"There was a locket."

"Huh?"

Hermione closed her eyes. "In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it. And we . . . we . . ."

Naruto watched in confusion as Harry and Ron then matched Hermione's expression of horror and regret. They looked so devastated Naruto was almost worried to ask what happened.

"We tossed it out," Harry whispered.

"Wait, you mean you've already found this locket thing?" Naruto said. "And you guys threw it out?"

Hermione quietly whimpered. "We had no idea what it was at the time . . . we couldn't get it to open and we thought it was just junk—"

"Kreacher!" Harry exclaimed.

"Come again?" Ron said.

"Kreacher nicked loads of stuff from us, remember? He had a whole stash of stuff in his cupboard in the kitchen. C'mon." He and the others started rushing down the stairs, leaving a bewildered Naruto right behind them.

"Wait, what are you talking about? Who's Kreacher? Is there someone else in this house? What—"

"_Filth! Mudbloods! Scum!_" Naruto groaned and covered his ears. If he wasn't mistaken, that would be the charming Mrs. Black. He figured the other three were too busy looking for some Kreacher fellow, so the task of shutting up the portrait was up to him. Naruto struggled with the curtains and after a few tries succeeded in slamming them shut. He stood there for a moment, panting as he massaged his poor ears.

"_Oww_."

Once his ears stopped ringing, he made his way into the kitchen where to his surprise the three wizards were talking to a very old House-elf.

"Gone," the House-elf said with his eyes closed.

"Gone?" said Harry, who visibly wilted. "What do you mean, it's gone?"

The elf—whom Naruto assumed to be Kreacher—shivered and swayed.

"Kreacher," said Harry sternly. "I order you—"

"Mundungus Fletcher," croaked the elf, his eyes still shut tight. "Mundungus Fletcher stole it all: Miss Bella's and Miss Cissy's . . ."

As the elf rambled on about items stolen, Naruto tried racking his brains. That first name sounded oddly familiar, but for some reason he couldn't quite put a face to the name.

He was brought out of his musings when Harry suddenly dived forward and tackled Kreacher, and for a split second Naruto was horrified. Was Harry going to punish the elf for not being able to protect the locket? Then he realized that Kreacher was trying to hurt himself and he lent a hand. He pulled the elf out from under Harry and rendered him immobile. Naruto wrapped his legs around the elf's and slid his arms through Kreacher's armpits and behind his back, all the while being careful not to be too forceful. This elf looked rather old and Naruto didn't want to break any bones.

His sudden appearance shocked the elf for a moment. He glanced up at Naruto with wide eyes. "You are . . ."

"Kreacher!" Harry knelt before them. "I order you to stop trying to hurt yourself! Understand?" The elf looked a bit surprised, then nodded slowly. "Okay. Naruto, you can release him." The shinobi nodded and carefully let Kreacher go. The elf stumbled forward and rubbed his shoulder, but couldn't help but stare at Naruto in slight wonder.

"You . . . are not from this dimension," he said.

Naruto chuckled. "Hey, this guy's pretty good! He could tell at first glance." Kreacher merely gave him a weary look, as if he were unsure of what to think of Naruto.

"Right, Kreacher, I want the truth: How do you know Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?"

Naruto then waited patiently for about another half hour as the wizards interrogated the elf and he did the best he could to follow what they were saying. It seemed like a rather interesting story. There was something about a cave where Voldemort hid the locket _(though the importance that simple piece of jewelry had was still beyond him)_, Voldemort forcing the poor elf to drink poison, House-elves being the only ones who could Apparate out of the cave, Regulus taking Kreacher back to the island to replace the locket, and Kreacher trying desperately to destroy the locket but always failing.

By this time, the poor elf was nearly inconsolable, and Naruto couldn't help but feel horrible for the little guy. He had a desperate urge to hug the poor elf but after seeing how Kreacher reacted when Hermione did it earlier, he felt it was in his best interests not to.

"Kreacher," said Harry after a while, "when you feel up to it, er . . . please sit up."

It was several minutes before Kreacher hiccuped himself into silence. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position again, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes like a small child.

"Kreacher, I'm going to ask you to do something," said Harry. He glanced at Hermione for assistance and Naruto smiled. Over the course of Kreacher's confession, it was obvious to all of them how poorly mistreated Kreacher had been all his life and he could tell they all wanted to change that. It seemed that Kreacher had to obey Harry for some reason _(Naruto overheard the wizards say something earlier that the house belonged to Harry now, so apparently Kreacher came along with the deed)_ and it was obvious Harry was trying to politely ask him to do something.

"Kreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket—where Master Regulus's locket is. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to—er—ensure that he didn't die in vain."

The elf dropped his fists and looked up at Harry. "Find Mundungus Fletcher?"

"And bring him here, to Grimmauld Place," said Harry. "Do you think you could do that for us?" As Kreacher nodded and got to his feet, Harry made a little gasp like he just remembered something, then reached back into the pouch around his neck. He pulled out the fake locket.

"Kreacher, I'd, er, like you to have this," he said, pressing the locket into the elf's hand. "This belonged to Regulus and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token or gratitude for what you—"

"Overkill, mate," Ron said with a small smile. Kreacher took one look at the locket, let out a howl of shock and misery, and threw himself onto the ground.

They then spent about another half an hour trying to calm him down, and Naruto felt rather proud of Harry's achievement. He didn't know the full story, but it seemed having a possession of Regulus Black's meant a great deal to Kreacher and it was rather touching to see how much it meant to the little elf. When Kreacher finally had the energy to stand, he carefully placed the locket in the little cupboard he lived in, and they all firmly assured him they would protect the locket until he returned. Overjoyed, he bowed deeply to all of them, though Hermione's was rather short and quick, but it seemed to be quite an improvement if Hermione's pleased look was anything to go by. Then he disappeared with a loud _crack_.

"Well," Ron said after a long pause. "At least we know where it is now."

"Let's just hope Mundungus hasn't sold it yet," Hermione said, biting her lip in worry.

Ron shrugged. "Then we'll just track the bloke down and force him to give it to us." He yawned. "Let's get something to eat, I'm starving!" Everyone quickly agreed and once they were all settled in with their breakfast of slightly stale bagels, they began explaining everything to Naruto.

* * *

"_Karakuri Engeki!_" Kankuro brought his hands forward and suddenly the old beggar man flew up and transformed into a triple-eyed puppet with four arms and brown, spiky hair. The Death Eater looked at Kankuro stupidly, not having noticed the puppet charging towards his back. Then he glanced behind to follow Kankuro's gaze and flew into the air as a cloud of black smoke just in time.

"Che." Kankuro altered Karasu's path and had the puppet stand in front of him. "So you bastards can fly then, huh? Gotta say I'm a little impressed."

The Death Eater landed on the opposite building. "And you seem to have some sort of puppet manipulation spell. Can't say I've ever heard of it."

Kankuro merely smirked. He felt a little offended that his jutsu was being compared to a magic spell, but Kakashi did say that their presence as shinobi had to remain a secret for as long as possible. Not that Kankuro intended to let the man live long enough to spill the secret if Kankuro _did _correct him, but there was always the chance someone was listening in so he might as well play along.

"Well that's too bad," he said. "Wanna test it out?" Kankuro reached behind his back and pulled out one of his scrolls, which he had been passing off as a bedroll. He quickly laid it out and made a hand sign. "_Kuroari!_" A second puppet appeared at his side: this one with black hair, three eyes, six arms, and two red horns atop its head.

"Ah, so you must be some type of foreign wizard," the Death Eater said, having caught a glimpse of the kanji on the summoning scroll.

"Yeah? What of it?"

The Death Eater sighed. "This just makes my job harder."

Kankuro frowned as he brought his puppets closer. "How is that?" Truthfully, Kankuro abhorred unnecessary banter between opponents, but he had lately come to the conclusion that it could be used to his advantage. While pretending to be engaged in the conversation, Kankuro could run different attack strategies in his head as well as possible countermeasures. He already had three scenarios he could use so far.

"Well—" _(The Death Eater pointed his wand at Kankuro)_ "—there's the chance the Dark Lord would want to extract all your secret spells from you to see if they are any use to us. And because of that, I am unable to seriously maim you like I was planning to. Simply injure and capture is _so_ much harder."

Kankuro smirked. "Let's just see if you can hit me first."

The man's eyes narrowed and he slashed his wand in Kankuro's direction. The shinobi easily body-flickered out of the way and reappeared behind the Death Eater.

"Surprise." Kankuro lifted his leg and kicked the man hard, knocking the wind out of him and sent him toppling over the building.

"_Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu!_"

Right below the falling Death Eater was Kuroari, his chest wide open while Karasu hovered in the air nearby, already disassembled with its hidden weapons exposed. Kankuro brought up Kuroari to catch his opponent, but at the last second the man turned around, pointed his wand at the puppet and bellowed, "_Protego!_" A white, circular shield of some sort appeared in between the two and they both bounced off, going opposite directions.

Kankuro swore as he leapt down to join them on the ground. He was rather hoping for an easy kill, but no matter. It was going to end the same anyway.

The man sliced his wand through the air yet again, only this time yelling, "_Sectumsempra!_" To Kankuro's surprise, the Death Eater aimed at the newly reattached Karasu instead of him. The shinobi was only slightly alarmed when his puppet was suddenly slashed as if with an invisible sword.

"Okay, now you're just insulting me," Kankuro said. He moved his fingers and Karasu disassembled once again now that he could no longer function properly put together. That was going to be fun to fix though. "Goodbye," he said. Kankuro crossed his arms in front of his face and threw them out. The Death Eater glanced over his shoulder to see Kuroari coming towards him again, chest wide open.

He scoffed and raised his wand. "Now who's insulting—" Suddenly he was yanked forward so forcefully by chakra strings that came from within Kuroari that he dropped his wand and collided with the red-horned puppet. Before he could move, the barreled chest snapped shut, and the levitating limbs of Karasu all revealed their hidden blades. Kankuro threw his hands down.

"_Kurdistan Kiki Nihatsu!_" Two scythes sprang out from Kuroari's sides and sliced through, then just to make sure, Kankuro clenched his hands and all of Karasu's limbs pierced through Kuroari. The Death Eater's blood slowly oozed out of the wooden puppet onto the cement ground.

Kankuro gave a small smirk and made his way over to his puppets. He opened Kuroari's chest and sighed. "This is gonna be hell to clean up." Then he glanced down at his clothes and sighed again. "And Molly's sure gonna love _this,_" he muttered.

"Oi, cat-boy!" Kankuro glanced up in shock. He had been so focused on his opponent he didn't realize how close to the twins he had really been. He'd need to work on that.

"That was really amazing!"

"Who you know had—"

"Don't look!" Kankuro threw his arms out in an attempt to conceal the mangled body within. While something like this didn't really phase him, he knew the two wizards had never seen anything so horrific. They must have gotten a small glimpse though, because they froze in their tracks and looked a little green. Fred covered his mouth and bent over to deposit the breakfast they had been given at Lee's house. Kankuro groaned.

"What, the blood didn't give it away?" he said, being sure to shut his blood-stained puppet.

"It's just . . . I . . . dear _Merlin_ I had no idea it would be this bad," said George, swaying just a bit where he stood.

Kankuro rubbed the back of his neck, realized there was blood on his hands, and sighed. "Yeah, well welcome to my world." George sent him a little grimace then helped Fred stand up.

"So what are we gonna do about all this?" Fred said, gesturing to all the blood.

"In my world we generally leave it, but as for here I have no idea, man."

"Here, I got this," George said. He gave Fred a friendly pat on the shoulder and stepped forward with his wand. "_Scourgify._" To Kankuro's amazement, the section of the wall George was pointing at was suddenly cleared of blood, only leaving a dark stain behind. "Figured it wouldn't work completely," George said.

"Lot better than having to do it by hand," Kankuro said. "Rain'll help wash it out eventually." George nodded and finished cleaning the surrounding area until there was nothing but dark stains.

"So what are we gonna do about him?" Fred asked, pointing to the still bleeding puppet.

Kankuro frowned. "Well, normally we'd either bring back the body as proof of the mission or hand it over to the ANBU, but I'll just burn it." He glanced around. "Got any trash cans or somethin'? It's gonna smell."

George merely flicked his wand. "_Accio trash can_." To Kankuro's surprise, a perfectly sized trash bin zoomed to them through the air and landed at George's feet. "Here ya go."

"Thanks." He dragged it over to Kuroari and waited until the twins were far enough away to drop the body inside. Then he dragged the full trash can a couple feet down the street, away from the twin's shop and used a small fire jutsu to light the body on fire. He angled it so the breeze wouldn't carry the scent down to them, because there was no way you could get used to the smell of burning human flesh. It made Kankuro sick to his stomach.

"So, um . . . do you think you could use that spell on Kuroari?" Kankuro asked. "I have a feeling your mom wouldn't want me bringing this home." George nodded and came forward to use the same spell, and Kankuro had to admit he was starting to see a little use in this magic. Of course he'd have to clean it fully back at the house with his specialized cleaning supplies, but this was good for now.

"Any chance it'll work on me?" Kankuro asked, gesturing to his soiled clothes.

Fred snorted. "No such luck, mate. Unless you want your skin feeling like you've scrubbed your skin with a porcupine."

"Really?" Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

The twins glanced at each other sheepishly. "We might have um . . . used it on ourselves at one point—" Fred began.

"—when we were completely young and misguided of course—" George added.

"—and let's just say it's not a bright idea."

"I'll take your word on it. But . . . what should I do? You know your mom'll kill me if I get in the house like_ this,_ man."

George just shrugged. "Well, while _Scourgify _won't work, I can at least get the blood off your skin with this." He took a step forward and pointed the wand at Kankuro's hands. _"Tergeo_." To Kankuro's amazement, the blood was siphoned off his hands, leaving them a pale red. It looked a little like a rash, but it was certainly better than having blood dripping to the ground. After a few more tries the blood was completely gone from his skin. Now they only had the clothes to deal with.

"Eh—we'll just nick some clothes from these guys over here for you to wear," George said. "Let's see if anything fits you." George started walking towards the group of people they had defeated, but stopped when he realized Fred was just standing there, glancing at Kankuro's puppet deep in thought.

"What is it, Fred?"

"I think I just had an idea . . . Kankuro, where's the wand of the Death Eater you killed?"

Kankuro frowned at the odd question but nonetheless glanced around for it. "Uh . . . here it is." He bent down and picked the stick off the ground. To his shock, a slight tingling sensation shot through his entire arm. "Whoa! What in the hell was that, man?"

"Try slashing through the air with it," Fred said.

Feeling incredibly foolish, Kankuro brandished the wand like he would a kunai. Yellow sparks flew from the wand tip, the bright light dancing in the darkened alleyway. "What happened?"

"The wand has recognized you as its new owner," George said with a hint of awe in his voice.

"What? You're talking about this thing like it has feelings or somethin'!" It was absurd, really. Kankuro was pretty sure he didn't sense any life coming from the polished stick in his hand.

Fred clapped an arm on Kankuro's shoulder, careful not to touch any blood. "We don't make the rules, mate."

"For some reason, whenever you properly disarm a magical opponent, you can gain ownership of their wand," George continued.

"Interesting how it happened through non-magical means."

"So wait—this is my wand now? I can do the stuff you guys do?"

"Yup! Congratulations! You are—"

"—the proud new owner of a wand!"

"Just look at him, Fred dear," George said, wiping away fake tears.

"Our little boy, all grown-up and getting his first wand," Fred said. He pinched Kankuro's cheek like one would to a small child. Kankuro growled and slapped the hand away, much to the twins' amusement.

"I have no need for a puny wand." He was about to toss it to the ground when Fred grabbed his hand.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," he said.

"Any idea how much those things _cost?_" George said. "You're getting one for free here."

"I would take advantage of such an opportunity, especially since Ollivander has gone missing and you'll have to travel far to get one from other wandmakers." Fred pushed the hand holding the wand towards Kankuro's chest. "Just hold on to it for now, okay? Just in case."

Kankuro sighed. "Fine. I'll hold on to it. Doesn't mean I have to use it though."

* * *

There were only a few times where Gaara decided he really hated magic. Now was one of those times. If he weren't so focused on protecting Molly it probably wouldn't be as bad though. Gaara had been in a marketplace before in Suna, and even then in his own dimension it was disorienting. It was so loud and people moved about in throngs, invading Gaara's personal space.

He knew that as a shinobi there wasn't such a thing as personal space when it came to battle, but when he didn't have to fight, Gaara preferred to keep people within a certain distance from himself. Not because he didn't care for them, mind you—it's just that with the way he grew up he found he preferred his space.

Which is why he felt very uncomfortable at a wizard's marketplace. Molly had suggested that she go to a Muggle supermarket to purchase supplies, but Arthur had refused. First of all, they didn't have much Muggle money, and it would be detrimental to their plans if she started avoiding all wizard contacts. If she only appeared to talk to people in private then people would get suspicious. They needed to act as if nothing was wrong, so when Molly Weasley decided to drop in on a few friends, no one would suspect she was passing along information to those determined to fight back Voldemort.

And so—Molly Weasley left for the Wizard's Market that morning with Gaara as her disguised guard. He had once again adopted the persona of "Larry" and for all intents and purposes looked like another Weasley.

Now, the thing that made Gaara on edge was the endless amount of surprises that he had to deal with. Not only did he have to act like he was used to this atmosphere to not seem suspicious, but he also had to be on the lookout for any disguised Death Eaters who would harm Molly. There were these things called shopping carts and they levitated across the floor, with the wizards and witches pushing them along with a lazy flick of their wand. Flash advertisements for different foods zoomed above their heads and Gaara could have sworn they were aiming for his head on purpose.

Then there were the smells. To Gaara's heightened sense of smell it was almost unbearable. He had a brief flashback to Professor Trelawney's classroom, but this place was far better. Not that it was any easier to handle though. It was just better in the sense that the place more or less smelled _nice_, and the scent of the shiny, waxed cement floors helped balance out the food. It was still a bit disorienting though.

Gaara had been so flustered that he accidentally crashed headfirst into an incoming shopping cart. He felt his sand start to fly out to catch his fall, but to his surprise he was stopped by Molly Weasley grabbing his arm. She shook her head quickly and Gaara immediately withdrew his sand with an embarrassed grimace.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Then he turned his attention to the fallen cart and abruptly bowed to the owner. "I deeply apologize," he said with a furious blush. The woman looked a bit taken back by the bow but gave him a smile.

"That's okay, I—" The woman stopped in surprise yet again as Gaara pulled the cart back up and began picking up everything that had fallen out as fast as he could without damaging any of the groceries. "Young man, it's quite all right." Gaara glanced up at her and with a smile the woman flicked her wand in the air and the rest of the objects went into the cart of their own accord. "Thank you anyway," she said as she continued on her way.

Molly put a hand over her mouth to do her best not to laugh. She found it rather comforting to see Gaara act like any other embarrassed teenager. After the shinobi's arrival she had gone to Hermione to learn more about their culture. Molly knew a little from their brief interaction a few years ago, but that was about it. The girl's explanation had done little to quell Molly's nervousness towards the newcomers, though it wasn't towards their character. Molly knew they were very kind and had the children's best interests in mind, but she couldn't help but worry for them like they were her own. Despite being a mother of seven, Molly Weasley had plenty of motherly love to go around.

She couldn't help it, really. Whenever she came across someone suffering she just couldn't help but want to extend a hand to the soul in need. When confronted with children like Harry Potter she couldn't help but let her protective side come into play. She still remembers seeing that poor little boy underfed in many more ways than food, and wanted to take him away from that horrid household. Dumbledore understood her desire and said if things were different he would take up her offer in a heartbeat, but sadly they were not. He never explained the reason, but Molly trusted him enough not to question it.

And so, she felt the same around these shinobi. There was definitely something missing from all of their lives and she wanted nothing more than to be able to give it to them. It was just that with everything going on with the Ministry and the Order and Ron out doing who knew what with Harry and Hermione and—

"Molly?"

She blinked herself out of her trance and glanced at Gaara who was peering at her quizzically. "Sorry, I just got—distracted."

Gaara merely nodded at the list in her hand. "What's next?"

"Hmm, let's see . . ." Molly looked to her right and started going down another aisle. "Any suggestions for treats?" She watched as Gaara carefully made his way down the many rows and stacks of every type of Wizard treat you could think of. At one point his eyes widened ever so slightly and he pointed. "Found something?" She made her way to his side. "Chocolate chip cookies?" Gaara nodded and Molly could tell he was doing his best to appear nonchalant about it. She smirked. "All right, chocolate chip it is. _However_—" she said when Gaara moved to pick it off the shelf, "—if we're going to have them we're going to have them homemade. I'll have you know _my_ cookies are way better than anything you can buy at the store. We'll make them once we get back, okay?"

Just then there was a loud crash of some kind and Gaara immediately went on alert, his hands raised in a defensive pose and Molly could see sharp, metal weapons in his left hand and a wand in his right.

"_Clean-up on aisle three . . . Clean-up on aisle three . . ._"

Molly let out a breath of relief. "It's all right, Gaara. Someone must have just spilled something." He stayed that way for a second longer then slowly lowered his arms and the weapons went out of sight. "Let's just . . . finish with the shopping."

As they put away the groceries upon returning back to the Burrow, Gaara couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. He could tell Molly was distracted by something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out just what was bothering her. He kept asking if she was all right, but she merely smiled and said everything was fine. It was only when he caught her sighing and glancing at their family clock did he understand. Then he realized what needed to be done. Gaara took a deep breath and turned to face her.

"Molly."

"Hmm?" She put down the jar of peaches she had been examining and glanced at him. "What is it, Gaara?"

"Ron is going to be all right." Mrs. Weasley stared at him in shock and Gaara hurried on. "After all I've seen after being with him and the others a few years ago, I can safely say that they will be able to make this work. And Naruto is with them, and I know without a doubt that he will protect them until his dying breath." Then he took another deep breath and wrapped his arms tightly around Molly's waist. As noted before, Gaara didn't have much experience with hugs or know too much about them. However, it seemed to him that Mrs. Weasley desperately needed one, and he just prayed that his assumption wasn't wrong.

To his surprise, delight, and slight horror—Mrs. Weasley started crying softly and wrapped her own arms around Gaara. After a minute had gone by he fought back the urge to squirm away. He felt _incredibly _uncomfortable with such prolonged physical contact, and not to mention the fact that he was hugging someone who was crying. What was he supposed to do in this situation? The tension started growing and Gaara fought down the panic he was feeling.

He quickly thought back on what he had seen one day in Suna. He had seen a young child slip and fall, earning them a skinned knee. The mother had scooped the child in her arms and started rubbing the child's back, saying things like, "_Shhhh, it's all right, honey. It's all right._"

Gaara raised a shaky hand and started rubbing awkward circles into Molly's back. He didn't say anything, because he was afraid if he opened his mouth he would push the woman away to get out of the uncomfortable situation he had put himself in. It seemed like he was doing a good enough job though, because a few seconds later Mrs. Weasley let go of him and dabbed at her eyes with her apron. Gaara hoped she didn't see how quickly he moved away from her.

Molly finished wiping her eyes and gave Gaara a warm smile. "Thank you for that, dear." And for some reason . . . her words made Gaara smile and he felt rather happy. It was perplexing, but whatever the reason was, they were both happy and that's all Gaara cared about.

"Well then. How about we finish putting these away and then make those cookies just like I promised you, okay?"

* * *

"So, um . . . who are we visiting today?" Sakura asked. She felt a little out of place in Ginny's altered clothes. Not to say they didn't look nice or were uncomfortable, but they were a bit different. She figured it had to do with the fact that this was another dimension and they probably used different material for their clothing. Most likely because they didn't have to factor in the possibility that their wearer would come into contact with a fire jutsu, and would appreciate not having to walk around with their scorched clothes falling off in inappropriate places. Or that they'd need to not be weighed down by wet clothes when fighting an enemy in a rainstorm. These clothes were made for comfort, and after wearing nothing but clothing made specifically for shinobi it was a bit different.

"Luna Lovegood's house," Ginny replied, sparing a moment to look to the side at Sakura. "You met her at the wedding."

Though to be honest with herself, Sakura wasn't feeling uncomfortable because of the clothes. She was uncomfortable being around Ginny, as she was with any other girl who wasn't a kunoichi. A life of fighting and killing made her feel distanced from "normal girls." Sakura still shuddered at the memory of one of their previous missions. It was a success, but she couldn't help but feel her role in it was inadequate. They were to escort a young girl _(just two years younger than Sakura) _and her father back home, along with their entourage. The girl herself was very sweet and kind, but Sakura's job was to mingle with the girl and her handmaids. It was the first time Sakura learned just how different she was from "normal girls."

"Oh yeah, now I remember her. What are we visiting her for? She was there during the attack so we don't need to warn her about anything. Or is she a Muggle-born?" Ginny's mission for the Order was to slowly inform all her friends about the problems with the Ministry and keep them updated on what the Order found.

Ginny looked at Sakura sheepishly. "No, she's not a Muggle-born and you're right about her more or less knowing everything we know. Thing is . . . we're visiting Luna for a special reason." Her eyes narrowed. "You have to swear you won't tell my mother about this!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "As long as it's not dangerous. Remember—I'm here for your protection and I will not abide by you taking unnecessary dangers." And like that, Sakura's hope for a normal friendship vanished. From her experience, whenever she had to lay down the rules with her charges it never ended well for the relationship. People simply didn't like being told what to do.

To Sakura's surprise, Ginny merely smirked. "Don't worry, I won't report you to your _sensei_ if you don't do your job right. And besides, it's not like I'm running off to go face some Death Eaters or something. Just going to talk."

The kunoichi tucked her now auburn hair behind her ear and frowned. "Well . . . if you're just going to talk why are you acting so secretive?"

"'Cause it's what we're _talking _about that's a bit dangerous," Ginny said. She yawned as she pulled back her arms to stretch. "See, two years ago Harry and the others started this club called Dumbledore's Army, which was sort of like the Order for Hogwarts students. It was really great and we learned loads of hexes and curses from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as how to conjure a Patronus and other defensive spells.

"And since those three are off fighting danger and keeping on the run, I figure I'm going to start it up again." Ginny's voice faltered a bit and she looked saddened. Then she scowled and looked off into the distance with a determined look in her eye. "Kakashi and the others are right—they're going to take control of Hogwarts and there's no telling what those Death Eaters will try to do to us, so I figure we might as well fight back." She glanced sideways at Sakura and grinned. "Don't you agree?"

Sakura laughed. "I can see why you wouldn't want your mother to know."

"Yep. And like I said, it's not like we're going to be doing anything _too_ dangerous. I just want to make sure as many students as possible are able to fight back if they need to and we're_ definitely_ not going to just sit around and let the Death Eaters boss us around."

Whatever Sakura's first impression was of Ginny, it certainly wasn't this. Her size and quiet demeanor _(at least with what Sakura had seen so far)_ didn't suggest she possessed that fiery zeal and determination Sakura now saw in her.

"You're much different than I expected," Sakura admitted.

Ginny laughed. "Well, when you grow up with six older brothers you learn to fight back. And after all I've been through with Harry and the others these past few years, it's hard not to want some of the action, you know? Oh, and you, Gaara, and Kankuro should join the DA, too! We could really use your help!"

"Huh? Oh, well . . . our job is to protect you and we can't—"

"Look." Ginny stepped in front of Sakura, forcing her to stop. "Me, Neville, and Luna—we're gonna to start up the DA again whether you like it or not. So the best way to protect us would be to 'supervise' our activities and lend your help, don't you think?" She grinned and held out her hand. "This way you won't get in trouble with Kakashi."

Sakura opened her mouth, paused, then smiled. "You've got me," she said with a sigh. She clasped her hand around Ginny's. "It's a deal."

The redhead let out a small cheer and hugged Sakura. "Perfect! Those Death Eaters won't stand a chance against us!"

For the rest of the journey, Sakura listened attentively as Ginny explained the background of the DA more in depth, as well as a few plans she had of her own for how they would change it this upcoming school year. As she listened, Sakura couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement; the kind she felt just before she was about to defeat an enemy. While she knew protecting a school full of wizard children could hardly be boring, the fact that they were planning to go behind the adults' back and fight back on their end added a whole new allure to the equation.

"Hopefully we can get you and Kankuro a wand soon," Ginny said as they made their way up the steps. "That way we can start teaching you so you'll have at least a basic understanding of some of the spells we'll teach in DA." She rapped on the door.

Luna opened it and looked rather excited to see them. "Hello, Ginny and Sakura. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Ginny answered with a grin. "DA stuff. Interested?"

The girl nodded vigorously. "Certainly! Please come in."

As they walked inside the oddly shaped house, Sakura couldn't stop her mouth from opening in astonishment. For some reason, it appeared as if the kitchen was the first room of the house. It was shaped like the inside of a bowl, with the circular walls slightly curved inwards as if trying to capture the inhabitants. What was even more peculiar was that all the appliances that rested against the wall were also curved to fit. And every inch of the walls was painted with flowers, insects, and birds in such bright colors Sakura almost had to squint. It was rather fascinating to say the least, but Sakura couldn't help but find that wizards had rather odd tastes.

Luna led them up the spiral staircase that was in the center of the room. Thankfully the next room wasn't as _unique_ but there was so much clutter Sakura felt like she were in Naruto's apartment. Yet instead of dirty socks, old ramen cups, and trash—this room was filled with books and peculiar objects that Sakura had absolutely no way to even guess as to their function. She had a sudden urge to examine everything and read the rusty tomes. Sadly, she couldn't read the language of this dimension. Hopefully she could ask Ginny for help on that later.

"Please sit," Luna said, gesturing to a dark green couch. Once they were properly seated Luna turned her attention to Ginny. "So what's your plan? Should I invite Neville over? I'm sure he would like to help."

"We'll definitely talk to Neville, but not right now," Ginny said. "I was wondering if we could get your father to help us again."

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, you mean like with Harry's interview?" Ginny nodded. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Is it another interview?"

"No, well—I guess in a way, but the most important thing right now is to get the news out that the Ministry has been taken over. You and your father were there at the wedding when Kingsley told us, but aside from the others that were there, no one will know."

"Luna!" The three girls turned towards the source of the noise and Sakura recognized him as one of the people at the wedding. He was walking down the staircase with a book in hand. "Where did you put—oh! I had no idea we had guests." He walked closer and looked at them curiously. "If I'm not mistaken you are the Weasley girl," he said, gesturing to Ginny, "and you are . . . I'm afraid I don't know you."

"Sakura Haruno," the kunoichi said with a small bow. "I'm . . . visiting with my cousin Ginny."

"Well how charming," he said. "Would you ladies like something to drink?" For some reason, Sakura noticed that Ginny's expression became a little pained and she opened her mouth to say something, but Luna spoke up first.

"Father—Ginny has something to ask of you."

"Oh really?" Mr. Lovegood looked rather excited. "If it's about the Dirigible Plums, the trick to keeping them bright and plump is a combination of sugar water and firewhiskey. I daresay they would look absolutely delightful next to your petunias—"

"Thank you for the advice Mr. Lovegood, but what I actually wanted to ask you has to do with _The Quibbler_." The man looked rather surprised, but it was quickly overcome by curiosity.

"And what would that be?"

"Well," Ginny began, "with the Ministry the way it is now, the_ Daily Prophet_ will no longer tell the truth—"

"Not that it ever did," Mr. Lovegood muttered under his breath.

"—and we need a more _respectable_ newspaper to let the Wizarding public know what's really going on. Would you be willing to work with the Order on some articles to publish?"

Mr. Lovegood looked rather pleased with the praise and nodded. "But of course! I still remember that edition of _The Quibbler_ that contained Mr. Harry Potter's interview on the Dark Lord and I have never sold so many copies before!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lovegood!" Ginny said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"The please is all mine, Miss Weasley," he said. "Now, when would the Order like to speak with me?"

"Would sometime tomorrow afternoon work?" Ginny said.

"That would be splendid!" Mr. Lovegood looked beside himself with glee and began muttering to himself as he walked back up the stairs. "Now what other articles should I include? My sighting of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack? Or proper ways to defend yourself against Wrakspurts? Or maybe . . ."

"Father looks so happy," Luna said with a delighted smile. "So, when will we have a meeting for the DA?" she asked, refocusing her attention on Ginny.

"Probably in a few days. If you could get in contact with Neville that would be very helpful. My family's movements are going to be closely monitored so we can't do too much visiting."

"Of course. Do you still have your Galleon?"

The redhead gasped. "That's right!" Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked to Sakura to be a gold coin. "Hermione gave this to me when she first came to the Burrow! It's Harry's Galleon, so we'll be able to send messages to all the DA members. And she taught me the Protean Charm, so once we get new members we can make more fake ones."

As the two girls discussed more plans_,_ Sakura couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. It was like they were speaking gibberish and she couldn't help but wish Kakashi-sensei had given her a translator for all these Wizarding terms. If there was one thing Sakura didn't like, it was not understanding something. That's part of the reason why she studied so hard at the Academy. She didn't like people knowing things she didn't, so she did her best to remember everything her sensei taught her. Not knowing something made her feel . . . left out and useless. And Sakura hated that feeling.

Once they left Luna's house, Sakura bombarded Ginny with even more questions, and to Sakura's relief, Ginny was more than willing to answer them. By the time they reached the Weasley house, Sakura had already come up with some suggestions for what they could do. She also promised to explain all that she knew to Kankuro and Gaara later that night.

"Now all that's left is convincing my mother to approve the meeting tomorrow," Ginny said with a grimace as they walked through the backyard.

"But she should understand how perfect of an opportunity this is, right?" Sakura said. "The Order is focusing on getting the word out."

"Well, yeah but if you haven't noticed already . . . my mother is a bit overprotective." Sakura chuckled. "I don't think my mother would necessarily get mad about Mr. Lovegood coming here, but more that I went out and did it on my own. She'll talk about how it was dangerous for me not to come to her first."

"But they would have agreed that it's a great plan, right?" Sakura still couldn't figure out what was so wrong with letting her mother know.

Ginny sighed. "Of course they'd see it as a great plan, but the problem is they wouldn't send _me_ to the Lovegood's house, and therein lies the problem."

The kunoichi frowned for a moment as she thought about it, then she broke out into a grin. "You really wanted to go there so you could talk to Luna about the DA."

"Bingo," Ginny said with a smirk. "The Order is great and all, but it's for older wizards and they deal more with problems on the outside. Like I said before, the DA is like the Order for Hogwarts students. It was mainly started by Hermione so we'd learn how to defend ourselves when that Ministry hag wouldn't teach us properly, but now it's different. It'll still be for teaching defense, but I think our mission should also be to protect the other students."

The excitement about their little group resurfaced and Sakura found herself eager for the school year to begin. "You'd make a great kunoichi," she admitted before Ginny knocked on the back door. The girl looked a little surprised.

"Thanks." She knocked. "Hey mom, dad! I've got something to tell you!"

* * *

To everyone's discouragement, Kreacher didn't return for the next two days. Instead, they noticed some rather suspicious-looking characters standing guard outside in the street. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were Death Eaters, but at least they couldn't get in. The four of them just had to make sure they made no mistakes or else those hooded men would swarm in on them like flies.

In an attempt to not go mad with boredom, Naruto asked for help with new spells the others had learned since his last visit to their dimension. Eager for something to do, the wizards readily agreed. Naruto found he rather liked_ Tarantallegra. _He could already see many uses for it back in Konoha.

And when they weren't practicing spells, their time was spent catching Naruto up to date with everything that had happened. They told him it wasn't necessary, but he was adamant. Naruto wanted to make sure he did this mission perfectly, and he knew to do that he had to know the same things they knew.

On the second day in the late afternoon, they were taking a small rest in the living room. They were tired from spell casting and explaining. Ron was playing with his Deluminator while Hermione was reading and just when their fighting had started to escalate, Naruto leapt to his feet and withdrew a kunai, shutting everyone up instantly.

"Who's here?" Hermione whispered, following Naruto's lead and withdrawing her wand.

"Don't know," he whispered back. The four of them slowly made their way to the hallway as the intruder entered the house and dispelled the jinxed dust-figure of Dumbledore.

"_Now_," Naruto whispered. He body-flickered away as the teens leapt into the hallway with their wands raised.

"Don't move!" they bellowed, which unfortunately awoke Mrs. Black.

"Ow! Be a little more careful okay, ouch! Hold your fire, it's me, Remus!"

"Oh thank goodness," said Hermione weakly, pointing her wand at Mrs. Black instead; with a bang, the curtains swished shut again and silence fell. Ron lowered his wand as well, but Harry did not.

"Show yourself!" The oddly-shaped figure stepped into the lamplight and they could now see that Naruto had him practically immobilized. His legs were tightly wrapped around Remus's waist while trapping the man's hands at his side, and Naruto held a kunai to the his throat.

"I am Remus John Lupin, werewolf, sometimes known as Moony, one of the four creators of the Marauder's Map, married to Nymphadora, usually known as Tonks, and I taught you how to produce a Patronus, Harry, which takes the form of a stag. And for you, Naruto—your Hokage's name is Tsunade and she has long, blond hair. I met her when I went to your dimension to retrieve you, Kakashi, Gaara, Kankuro, and Sakura."

"Good enough for me," Naruto said, finally releasing the man. Remus gave a small smile before massaging his throat.

Harry lowered his wand. "Had to check, didn't I?"

Remus nodded. "Speaking as your ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I quite agree that you had to check. Ron, Hermione, you shouldn't be so quick to lower your defenses." The two blushed a light shade of pink and promised they would do better next time.

Naruto helped the tired man out of his thick black traveling cloak and placed it on the rack. Remus thanked him and followed the others towards the living room.

"No sign of Severus, then?" he asked.

"Not really," Harry said. "According to Naruto he's been snooping around here before, but we haven't seen him since. What's going on? Is everyone okay?"

"Yes," said Remus, "but we're all being watched. There are a couple of Death Eaters in the square outside—"

"We know—"

"I had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me. They can't know you're in here or I'm sure they'd have more people out there; they're staking out everywhere that's got any connection with you, Harry. Let's sit down, there's a lot to tell you, and I want to know what happened after you left the Burrow."

When they entered the kitchen, Hermione pointed her wand at the fireplace. A fire sprang up instantly, giving the illusion of coziness in comparison to the stark stone walls. Lupin pulled a few butterbeers from his wizard cloak and they sat down at the table.

"I'd have been here three days ago but I needed to shake off the Death Eater tailing me," said Remus.

"So everyone's really all right?" Ron asked. Remus sent him a warm smile. Out of everyone he looked the most flustered.

"They are. There were a few injuries, but thanks to Molly and Sakura they were quickly taken care of."

"Were the people who attacked at the wedding Death Eaters or Ministry people?" Hermione asked, taking a sip of her butterbeer.

"A mixture; but to all intents and purposes they're the same thing now," said Lupin. "There were about a dozen of them, but they didn't know you were there, Harry. Arthur heard a rumor that they tried to torture your whereabouts out of Scrimgeour before they killed him; if it's true, he didn't give you away."

The four teens exchanged expressions of mingled shock and gratitude. Despite how horrible the man had acted towards them, his final act had been trying to protect Harry.

"The Death Eaters searched the Burrow from top to bottom," Remus continued. "They found the ghoul, but didn't want to get too close. They tried to cause some trouble, but thanks to Kakashi and the others," he said with a nod in Naruto's direction, "they caused a bit of trouble on their own and the Death Eaters didn't really stay long." Remus snorted. "I've never seen Amycus act so cowardly in my life before." He took a deep drink of his butterbeer before continuing.

"At the same time that they were smashing up the wedding, more Death Eaters were forcing their way into every Order-connected house in the country. No deaths," he added quickly, anticipating the question by their expressions, "but they were rough. They burned down Dedalus Diggle's house, but as you know he wasn't there, and they used the Cruciatus Curse on Tonks's family. Again, trying to find out where you went after you visited them. They're all right— shaken, obviously, but otherwise okay."

"The Death Eaters got through all those protective charms?" Harry asked. They had been rather effective in Tonks's parents' garden that night he was moved to the Burrow.

"What you've got to realize, Harry, is that the Death Eaters have got the full might of the Ministry on their side now," said Remus. "They've got the power to perform brutal spells without fear of identification or arrest. They managed to penetrate every defensive spell we'd cast against them, and once inside, they were completely open about why they'd come."

"And are they bothering to give an excuse for torturing Harry's whereabouts out of people?" asked Hermione, an edge to her voice.

"Well," said Remus. He hesitated, then pulled out a folded copy of the _Daily Prophet_. "Here," he said, pushing it across the table to Harry, "you'll know sooner or later anyway. That's their pretext for going after you."

Harry smoothed out the paper. A huge photograph of his own face filled the front page. He read the headline over it:

**WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT**

**THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

Ron, Hermione, and Naruto gave roars of outrage, but Harry said nothing. There was no reason to read it, because he already knew what it would say. Only those who had been in the tower knew what truly happened, and Harry himself had been seen running from it during the battle a few months ago. There was no doubt Rita Skeeter was using that to her advantage.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Remus said. The boy just shrugged.

Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance. He knew Rita Skeeter's handiwork anywhere and he was furious. He could tell Harry was trying to act unconcerned about it, but there was no doubt it was frustrating him. From what he had been told, Harry had nothing but trouble getting the rest of the Wizarding world to believe him in that Voldemort was back, and to have another blow like this had to be difficult for him.

They then continued their discussion as Remus explained what the Ministry was doing to Muggle-born witches and wizards and what the Order was doing to stop it from getting too dangerous. Apparently, the Ministry was using the excuse that the only reason Muggle-borns were able to use magic was because they "stole" it from other wizards. Naruto found that explanation to be rather stupid. From what Kakashi-sensei had told him and Gaara the first time they were here, chakra and magic were rather similar, and there was no way you could just "steal" chakra. Well, you could, but you'd only be able to utilize it or really take it anyway if you were already a chakra user yourself, so that train of thinking was ridiculous. Naruto found himself worried for all the Muggle-born witches and wizards out there, but Lupin assured them that the Order was doing all they could to help them.

Naruto smirked when Ron boldly promised to cover for Hermione so she wouldn't be taken away for being a Muggle-born. Like she explained though, with them on the run with the "Wanted" Harry Potter, there was little chance they needed that precaution.

Remus gave a little yawn and stretched. "Well, that's about it for my side. Now, I know you're on a mission for Dumbledore—"

"We can't tell you," Harry said flatly.

Remus blinked for a moment then laughed. "Relax Harry—I'm not here to force the answer out of you. I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help you on your quest."

Harry frowned. It was a tempting offer, but he didn't really feel their mission was something Lupin should be helping with. "Sir, it's . . . we appreciate your offer, but I don't think it would work out for you to come with us—"

"Come with you?" Remus looked puzzled. Then he laughed. "Don't be silly Harry—I'm not asking to join you. I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do on the outside for you, like . . . pick up groceries or something or give you information you need."

Harry blinked. To be honest he hadn't been expecting _that_. Most of the Order kept trying to force the mission out of them and he was sure that Lupin was going to ask to come along.

It seemed as if Remus noticed his hesitation and he gave a sheepish grin. "I know what you're thinking Harry, and to be perfectly truthful . . . I'll admit that at first I wanted to come and join you. Then after a . . . _ahem_—discussion with Kakashi and time spent thinking during the past few days as I traveled here, I realized it was a stupid idea." He looked like a child about to be scolded.

"My place is with Tonks and the Order. It would be selfish and irresponsible of me to abandon them now." He then broke into a small smile. "And Tonks is going to have a baby."

"Oh, how wonderful!" squealed Hermione.

"That's awesome!" said Naruto, pumping his hand in the air.

"Excellent!" said Ron enthusiastically.

"Congratulations," said Harry.

Remus looked genuinely pleased at their enthusiasm. "Thank you so much."

There were a few more questions asked about Tonks and the baby, but once that died down, Remus turned his attention back to Harry. "So, anything exciting happen to the lot of you after the wedding?"

"Well . . ."

The wizard frowned at Harry's tone and turned around to face all of them. They were looking back and forth with worried looks on their faces, like they had been caught doing something bad and were too ashamed to admit it. "What happened?"

"We uh . . . ran into some Death Eaters," Ron began.

"That's right!" Naruto exclaimed, looking like he had just remembered something. He stood up and rushed to Remus's side. "I interrogated one of the Death Eaters and he said that You-Know-Who placed a curse on his name so whenever anyone uses it they'll be surrounded by Death Eaters in seconds!"

The jovial atmosphere that had been previously sustained immediately vanished. "Y-you're sure?"

"Positive!" Naruto said, his eyes betraying no room for doubt. "You need to pass on that information to the others! We didn't really know how to contact you so—" Lupin was already rushing the door.

"I'm sorry I can't stay!" he said hastily, tugging on his coat. "I need to tell the Order before they send anyone else out on a mission!"

"Good luck!" Harry said. Remus nodded, gave them all a little wave, then opened the door and disappeared on the first step. Harry would have wanted him to stay a little longer, but Lupin was right—they needed to let the Order know. The Boy-Who-Lived just hoped it would reach them in time.

Once the world stabilized, Lupin took off towards the Weasley house. He had landed in their backyard and reached the back door in seconds.

"Molly! Arthur!" he said, pounding on the door. "I have urgent news!"

A few seconds later the door opened, revealing the flustered Weasley couple. "Merlin's beard—what is it, Remus? Why are you back so soon?"

"There's no time for that! You—" Lupin glanced around, squinting against the darkened backyard with scrutiny. "I need to tell you inside," he whispered.

Molly moved to open the door, but Arthur stepped in front of her. "What is the last thing I told you before you left?"

"Oh, right. That the code is 'Dumbledore lives on.'" Arthur nodded and opened the door. Remus briefly noticed the shinobi and wizards at the dining room table, dinner obviously forgotten. Once the door clicked shut he began.

"I just got back from visiting Harry and the others," he began. "They're safe, but they have important news. Apparently, You-Know-Who has placed a curse on his name so that whenever it's said, Death Eaters will Apparate on the spot and capture the ones responsible."

There was a collective gasp and Molly's hands flew to her mouth in horror. Arthur swore. "To think he's taken such drastic steps . . ."

"It's pretty smart though, man," Kankuro said. "From what I've seen, you guys are the only ones with enough guts to take him on so it's a tactical approach to takin' you all out."

"And it's probably—"

"—what happened to us."

Molly gasped. "Merlin's beard! Kingsley and Kakashi!"

Lupin whipped around to meet her. "What do you mean by that?"

Arthur mirrored his wife's horrified expression and answered, "The two of them just left on a mission a few hours ago. It was an undercover mission to try and scope out where You-Know-Who is hiding.

"We have no way of contacting them without blowing their cover."

* * *

**Oh no! I'm excited—now we're getting a glimpse at some of the missions the Order takes care of, and I for one am eager to write Kingsley and Kakashi together. They make such a great fighting pair. :) And I don't really like Ginny being a Sue (I think Ginny had great potential to be a more interesting character but Rowling focused more attention on the Trio) so through this story I'm going to work on making her more of a girl worthy of Harry Potter. I hope I'm doing well so far!**

**I apologize for having Gaara's part in this chapter so short, and for not going in depth for them making cookies! I just couldn't write anymore. It _will_ be referenced in the next chapter though, I assure you, so you'll see what happened.**

**Part of the reason it took so long was because I had to research Kankuro's abilities and figure out how I was gonna have him fight. I've got to admit that writing fight scenes take me _forever!_ Got to watch a few episodes in the process though. :) And I also hope I did a good job with the whole bit with Lupin. I tried to make it not a straight copy out of the book because that would certainly be boring, but I had to keep certain things in there as they appeared in the book.  
**

**And I recently saw the seventh Harry Potter movie****—****it was truly amazing! Yes, there were problems, but nothing that really made me angry. I honestly left that theater wanting to see the movie again ASAP. I was impressed with how well they did. The Ministry of Magic part was hilarious! :D Thoughts?**

**Now, after writing all of that, please excuse me while I pass out.  
**

* * *

Anonymous review replies:

Annoying Little Twit: Thank you so much for your kind words. :) And I totally agree that I wish we could use bold and italics in reviews. It would certainly make reviews more interesting.

Kisa: Darn—I couldn't find you. So sad. We can try again next year though! And Happy (belated) Birthday! Hope it went well. Thanks for reviewing!

(): Yeah, figured I might have a little fun throwing something unexpected your way. And a shinobi is the best person to teach them about war.

ninja-fox: Thanks for the review, and don't worry—I have every intention of bringing this story to its completion. It just regrettably is taking a little longer than I'd like.

pammi-hime: No—there's nothing wrong with that. It's all my fault for taking so freakin' long to update. This time it wasn't so bad though, right? And yeah, you never did have your head on straight in the first place. XD *high fives you back*

jinchuuriki: Why thank you! Glad you stuck through it and I'm so pleased to know you enjoy this story as well. Hope this wait wasn't too long.

Anonymous12 3: Okay good—so it is you. :) Sorry that it took so long to update last time. This time was much faster though, right? And make your account already and send me a message! :D Oh—and my response is . . . "NO! I'M A PRANCING PASTRY!" XD

Tolazytologin: Why thank you! I'm so pleased this story is better—I'm amazed people ever read the first story! I look back over it now and cringe at how horrible it was! Thanks for stickin' through.

smile: Heh—sorry about that. I have no intentions on discontinuing this story. It might take a while, but it will get update. And in regards to Naruto, you have to understand that he just lost probably the most important person in his life, and he's still dealing with the grief. Losing someone that close tends to have a deep effect on people, and I wanted to touch up on that a little. But now he's back to his normal self. And plus, I feel that while Naruto is generally always super upbeat and a great inspiration for everyone—he does have his moments where he's down in the dumps. If he didn't, then he just wouldn't seem all that real to me. Of course he doesn't have many of those, but whatever.


	8. Chapter 8: New Side to the War

**I'm terrible. I should be hanged, drawn and quartered and then set on fire. I cannot express my shame at having taken this long to update. After posting this story I'm going to take a gun to my head so deep is my shame. **

**A few points though, because of the plethora of questions regarding these matters:**

1.** I WILL NEVER ABANDON THIS STORY.** I know that so far my updating schedule has been shitty to be perfectly honest, but I _do_ have a life outside of anime and fanfiction and that's just the way it goes. I'm not going into details but I had a bit of a rough patch this last while. I promise you all that I'm doing my best and I thank you all for being patient with me. You guys are all wonderful! *blows kisses*

2. I will **NOT** bring in any more shinobi. Sorry. Quite a few of you have expressed a desire for Voldemort to bring some Akatsuki members over or something or Konoha to send extra help—but no. I have way too much on my plate as it is for this. There is so much planning that goes into this story it's not even funny. I have files and notebooks filled with ideas and timelines and character bios and calendars of events and…yeah. Five shinobi is enough, thank you very much. XD I assure you that there will be more than enough happening to entertain you.

**I know I have quite a couple more reviews to respond to, but I figured I'd spend my time working on this chapter instead of responding. I will respond eventually however, so you'll still get a response!**

**I'd like to thank all these people for their wonderful reviews!** Doll-Fin-Chick, captivated fairy, Duder Skanks, Malix2, birningice, Lupanari, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Isana, littlefoxx567, Orihime-San, airnaruto45, MadnessLover, Javiur, Sabaku no Sable, Payce99, Mesonoxian, Hitokiri Shinzui, fayfan, Yumetaka Kourui, Lord Rebecca-Sama, TJ, Game-girl209, Midnightmich, GreyFitti, actressforever, Soraya the All Speaker, Venus914, Kale Henderson, Whitemagic58, Little Kunai, Ice Vixen X, NightFury808, nanashiindou, Lunatic Pandora1, naruto-lost-deathnote, Pissed Off Irish Chick, Daughter of Hades1995, Key, ArashiKage Naruto, candyman123, BetahimeTsukiko, Rakugosha, MidniteCurse4Eternity, Yarra, NomadSaw, Uzumaki Naruko14, yaoifangrl4ever, Lightningscar, TheArdisaur, crazzyredhead, Namikazelil, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Kisa, kimcat, disneytiger, Petite Pixe524, Sharfan, JK, Sharfan (6), AnimeFreak2468, ANBU's Golden Lioness, Minato loves cal bears, melonhed85, Thais of the Star, Canna-Chan, TiinyDottTee, sanmitamaya, Tinchek(3), quintupledots915, AvatardsUnite, MM, Furionknight, , lego825, RokibaHatake, SilverLunaMoon (5), KakashiRulez, gintamachick, TheDepressedFairyFromHell, Mollybobcat, TrickeDLUnatiC, imouto12345, FOXANBU, EarwenTelrunya, silver fox 99, Piffsheep, 92Nemmy92, Wind Chakra, Serena-loves-Angst, Blinded in a bolthole(6), Wind Chakra, Uchiha Bara(7), ShirouHokuto, Xbud, XLord31, colbub, Kaka 3, JoSchmo666 (6), Ice Demoness Loveless, maneatingraccoon, Rinn, hitsugayataichoda, SaturnXK(7), Ember Spy, manateeface, mishap, JayneParker, naien543, haruhi65, Red Blaze (2), pyromania101, skie89, KageHisakata, thecis123, omally-dood, writer's legend, (blank), melkyre, virginger(2), PHr33k, AustinMinatoUzumaki, justMe, XxKyuubiRoxX, Rikuluver4ever, .Apples, DreamFeathers, Skipper311, Frostfire613, MuffinMan95, Failisse, ILoveDeaththeKid888, Ladyyuuki16, Tsukiyo no Masaru, ScribbleX3, Minator loves cal bears, Rika24, Xxsarbear-chanxX, Haytang, DragonPrincess91, BewareTheIdesOfMarch, Hikari no Minerva, Sessho's Girl, Featherain (2), Rain on a window, Burnzs (2), RedEYES-Fallen, BladeofRays, theo darkstar, RandomCitizen, Sypher14, Calliopic, Tenma Sosei (2), Wheelchairmaniac99, A Neverending Dream of Flight, Asshole, Guest, Anonymous 3, jay 8P, SasoriTactic, kaori and Yoshi, Wilfite, To Fly Or To Dream, GirlAnimePrincess, Guest, arogus98, Guest, WatermelonCat, WRose, MKTerra, MR-Obsidian-NZ, FlyingTurtleduck, Willwazooka, kyzalon (7), , littlechick2013, K (2), Ali-Kun, Tae, sakura240, StrawberryMelody, Moriviv, Katsumi-phoenix, and ToveSiwe. **If you've changed your name since I've last updated, be sure to let me know so I know who you are! :)**

**And I'm sorry this chapter is shorter than the rest, but I figured any update was good enough.**

**Now without further ado, here's the summary and next chapter of NDH! **

* * *

**Summary:** Lupin goes to Konoha to ask for the shinobi's help, and then Sakura and Kankuro come along as well to protect Gaara. Everyone is happily reunited, and Naruto gets Dumbledore's original watch from the will. They all help with the wedding, but then the Death Eaters come and Naruto and the Trio leave. With the Ministry fallen, the shinobi work with the wizards to best figure out how to fight back, warn wizards of the truth, and protect Muggle-borns. Kankuro goes with the twins to get helpful stuff from their joke shop but run into another Death Eater and some Snatchers. Kankuro defeats the Death Eater and gains a wand. Ginny and Sakura go to Luna's house to invite Mr. Lovegood to start publishing the truth of what's happening in _The Quibbler_, but also to discuss starting Dumbledore's Army up again with Luna. Gaara goes shopping with Mrs. Weasley and helps ease her worries about Ron and the others. Meanwhile, Naruto protects the Trio as they try to find a place to stay. Two Death Eaters find them, but are defeated and Naruto takes one for interrogation. They learn that by saying Voldemort's name they'll be discovered. Naruto is forced to torture the information out of the Death Eater, but his actions were influenced by his unresolved hatred toward Pein for killing Jiraiya. He gained a knowledge of what it's like to be consumed with revenge, but overcame it and hopes to use his experience to help Sasuke. He and the Trio learn about the locket and send Kreacher after it. Then Lupin comes to check up on them and he's told about Voldemort's curse. He rushes back to the Burrow to tell the others, but learns he's too late to warn everyone.

_Molly gasped. "Merlin's beard! Kingsley and Kakashi!"_

_Lupin whipped around to meet her. "What do you mean by that?"_

_Arthur mirrored his wife's horrified expression and answered, "The two of them just left on a mission a few hours ago. It was an undercover mission to try and scope out where You-Know-Who is hiding._

_"We have no way of contacting them without blowing their cover."_

* * *

Kakashi was starting to feel like his old self again. He was on a mission, traveling through forests with danger beside him. Granted, he wasn't able to move as fast as usual and his companion was a wizard and not a shinobi—but it was the closest experience he could get. And Kingsley seemed like a very capable wizard so he wasn't complaining.

They were currently tracking a group of Voldemort's followers who seemed to be made up of two Death Eaters and five "ordinary" wizards. It had taken them a full day and a half to find them, and now the two of them were simply trailing them in the hopes that they'd eventually be led to Voldemort's hideout. Normally something like this would be nigh impossible without Ministry assistance since the group of followers kept Apparating, but that's where Kakashi's specific skill set came in.

To track them, Kakashi used the same trick he used back during the Triwizard Tournament, when Naruto and Gaara were whisked away by a Portkey. The second the wizards disappeared, he body-flickered to the area and sent out his chakra like physical tendrils to read the magic signature. He would then draw runes in a circular pattern on the ground and use a reverse summoning as soon as Kingsley grasped his shoulder.

The technique would never bring them to the exact same spot that the wizards had Apparated to, but Kakashi had gotten as skilled as one could get, and even then, perfection wasn't really what they were aiming for. They needed to be close enough to see what was going on, but far enough away that their presence wouldn't be noticed.

It was on their fifth re-Apparition that anything worthy happened, and Kakashi and Kingsley were lucky to even make it in time. One second the Death Eaters and followers were laughing around a fire after having settled down for the night, and the next they stopped what they were doing and vanished. Kakashi was just barely able to gather his meager supplies and read enough magical energy to see where they went. Going into it, he and Kingsley knew this time they would be brought somewhere important, because all the other times it had been obvious the men were about to leave.

When they arrived, it was in a cluster of trees and bushes at the end of a clearing. It was obvious they had traveled far, because unlike their previous location where it was late at night, here it was just nearing nightfall, with the sky still smothered in a pink and orange hue. The importance of the unexpected disappearance also became very clear.

"Round 'em up!"

There were a few seconds of screaming and yelling as curses were thrown left and right, then silence. Somehow, the group of Voldemort's followers had chanced upon a family who were on the run by the looks of it. They had tried to fight back with their own magic, but the Death Eaters had the element of surprise.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed at the sight of the bound parents and children in front of him, and if Kingsley's tightened grip on his shoulder was any indication, he felt the same.

"Most likely a family with Muggle-born parents on the run," Kingsley whispered, his voice just audible enough for Kakashi's ears. "Some people have been smart enough to run after the persecution started."

"But how were they found so fast?" Kakashi muttered back. Kingsley's grip tightened when a dark wizard abruptly kicked the captured family's father. "Did they trip some sort of alarm? We need to figure out how they're finding these people so we can make sure it doesn't happen again."

Kingsley lifted his hand off Kakashi's shoulder and cast a few intricate spells into the air, ones that Kakashi had never heard before but made sure to commit to memory. After a moment's silence the dark-skinned man shook his head.

"I don't sense any sort of magical entrapments," he said. "If I were them I would have set up a spell that reacted to magic being used, but as you can see that family has been here for at least a couple hours, and this location is remote enough that they wouldn't have to be cautious with their spell-casting." He sighed in frustration and shook his head in defeat. "There has to be something else at work here."

"We can do a more in-depth sweep of the area later," Kakashi said. "Do you think they'll be taken to Voldemort or some other secondary location?" Saving these people was their top priority certainly, but if they were able to track them all the way back to where Voldemort was hiding that would be even more beneficial. However, another alternative would be to ambush the Death Eaters now, then track them in their retreat.

Kingsley's brow furrowed in contemplation as he observed the dark wizards arguing in whispers before them. "The chance is slim. I can't see what—"

The words died on Kingsley's lips as the two of them suddenly found themselves surrounded by all but two of the Dark Wizards, who had stayed behind to guard the captured family. The men surrounding them had their wands pointed directly at their throats and the smile on their faces was all too smug for both Kakashi and Kingsley's liking.

"Wondered how long it would take you to notice us," Kakashi chuckled, his carefree voice cutting into the stunned silence. "See, my friend and I were just about to start making bets to pass the time."

Despite his flippant tone, Kakashi was highly confused. He knew he wasn't the best judge of a person's character, but he knew how to judge a man's fighting ability. There was no _way_ these wizards could have sensed them! From what he learned the last time he was in this dimension, no one had senses as sharp as a shinobi. They were mere civilians in that sense. The only possible alternative was that there was some sort of magical detection charm nearby, but both he and Kingsley hadn't been able to detect anything. What was it?

Oh well. Hopefully they could solve that little issue later. Their main priority was to free the family and not give Kakashi's identity away.

Kakashi whispered for Kingsley to go help the hostages and leave the rest to him until the others were safe. The other man gave a barely perceptible nod, and then as one unit they moved. Kingsley Disapparated from their position and immediately opened fire on the two guarding the captured family. Kakashi withdrew his wand and kunai, felling two of their enemy immediately. _(He let the one with the kunai embedded in his shoulder live)_

By all accounts this should have been a relatively easy extermination _(with the word "relatively" used because Kakashi wasn't allowed to kill them all)_ which is why what happened next was completely unexpected. All the remaining wizards surrounding Kakashi pointed their wands upward and bellowed, _"Levitast! _

In the span of an instant, all the raised wands were suddenly connected to each other by a single, pulsating strand of white electricity which then shrunk to the size of an average head, and headed straight for Kakashi. It happened so fast and was so unexpected that he didn't have time to dodge.

Kingsley snapped his attention over to Kakashi's area at the sound of the man's shrill howl. The light given off from the electricity that coursed through his body was bright enough to force the large man to hold out an arm to shield his eyes. He chanced a glance at the people he had just set free and saw they were looking in the same direction he had been.

"Go now!" he yelled. "Don't worry about us—we'll hold them off, but you need to leave!" The father looked a little startled at his harsh tone but nodded and immediately Disapparated with his family. Now that their safety was assured _(for the time being)_, Kingsley turned his attention back to his cohort.

The magicked electricity had already run its course through his body, and Kingsley saw the end result of Kakashi's body collapse on the ground; a few pulses of electrical discharge crackling into the air. Kingsley sent a few curses at the men closest to Kakashi and to his relief they leapt out of the way, providing a clear path for him. The large man deflected a number of curses aimed at him using a shield charm and once he reached Kakashi, threw an arm around the other man and yelled,

_"Deprimo!"_ He was nearly thrown back by the powerful blast of wind, but had thankfully aimed it well enough that he and Kakashi were unaffected. While it succeeded in disorienting their opponents—it was only temporary. He needed to discuss their plan of attack with Kakashi.

To his relief, Kakashi groaned and shifted beside him, turning on his side to blink up at Kingsley with unfocused eyes.

Kakashi's mind was reeling. Was that . . . but no—it couldn't be possible, could it? No matter, there was no use worrying about it now, but that spell felt too similar to his Chidori to dismiss it. Thankfully it wasn't as destructive, or else he would be in much worse shape.

"It appears following them is out of the question," Kingsley said dryly.

"Injure the remaining and return to the Burrow in five," Kakashi said. He grasped the offered hand, stood up, and mentally erased the pain. There would be time to attend to his injuries later. Now their focus was in making it so these Death Eaters would be unable to attack other innocents for at least a few days.

Kakashi and Kingsley started firing curses left and right, hoping to catch the fallen Death Eaters off guard. Unfortunately, most of them either employed a Shield Charm or simply moved out of the way in a cloud of black smoke. Kakashi couldn't exactly complain though—he preferred his opponents to at least prove somewhat of a challenge.

There wasn't much time for thinking for the next three minutes, as both Kakashi and Kingsley had their hands full dealing with the remaining six Dark Wizards. Kingsley managed to kill one by magicking a branch to swing down and break the man's neck, while Kakashi knocked two out by slamming their heads together.

Their enemy was understandably enraged by now and the two Order members couldn't help but share a smirk as they stepped closer together. The remaining Dark Wizards were enclosing them in a half-circle, and the second Death Eater thrust out his wand yelling, "_Telumis!_"

Kakashi twisted his body and kicked Kingsley out of the way as a barrage of assorted knives came charging toward them. Kakashi's eye narrowed as the weapons embedded themselves into a tree with uneven thuds.

There was no denying it now. Combined with the Chidori-like spell earlier, it was clear the Dark Wizards were copying the shinobi's attacks. They had created spells that mimicked their techniques and were now using them in battle. Despite Kakashi's anger to see his moves manipulated by such evil men, but he couldn't help but be slightly awed by their resourcefulness. And besides, he _was_ the Copy Ninja after all so it's not like he could fault others for doing it.

Out of nowhere a hand griped his arm, and as Kakashi moved to slice it off, the world shifted, twisted, and turned inside out. When the world righted itself again, Kakashi knew he had been forcibly pulled into Side-Along Apparation.

He immediately body-flickered away from the Death Eater for a chance to get his bearings, since the man's purpose was clearly to disorientate Kakashi enough to gain an advantage over him. He could feel the sun beat down upon him with a tangible oppression, and the brightness of it in comparison of the darkened night they had just come from made his vision swim. When he could see, Kakashi took a brief, two-second glance at his surroundings.

It reminded him of the expansive desert that led to Suna, though instead of rolling sand dunes there was nothing but flat earth resembling cracked mud. An extremely familiar green spell pulsated toward him, and Kakashi's face split into a wide grin as he leapt out of the way. It seemed his opponent had brought him here, with no other signs of life for as far as they could see, for a simple execution. Little did the man know it would be _his_ execution, rather than Kakashi's. Now that it was only them, he was allowed to go full out.

"_Doton: Doryū Jōheki!_" The ground beneath the Dark Wizard's feet bulged and rose up into the air, knocking the man off balance. As the man let out a cry, Kakashi charged forward, kunai in hand. Before the man could alter his position as he fell, Kakashi plunged the kunai into the man's neck from behind. The man let out a gurgled cry and Kakashi withdrew the blade. A small cloud of dust billowed out as the body collapsed on the ground and the dust swirled around Kakashi's feet. Then with a sigh, he reached down and wiped the kunai against the man's clothes.

While this mission had been a relatively successful one, all it did was raise questions. How were the Death Eaters able to track their enemies so quickly? And not to mention—how many of their jutsu had been converted to spells?

* * *

The three wizards plus Naruto spent a few moments just staring at the door Remus disappeared behind.

"Good call on remembering to tell him that," Ron said as they made their way back to the warm fireplace to finish their butterbeers.

Naruto nodded. "I'm just glad we had a way to let the Order know," he said. Now that the excitement was over, everyone listlessly resumed what they had been doing before.

Harry reached a hand out for the Daily Prophet that Remus had left behind and started leafing through it. He was well aware that the chances of reading anything positive were slim, but he felt an odd sense of duty partially influenced out of curiosity to find out what was going on since the collapse of the Ministry. He soon came across an old photo that caught his eye.

It was of a young Dumbledore and his family, with a headline above it entitled:

**EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM UPCOMING BIOGRAPHY OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

The newspaper crinkled underneath Harry's clenched hand, but he read on with a type of morbid curiosity. Dumbledore's past was such a mystery to him, though he soon regretted the decision. He discovered that Dumbledore's family had apparently moved to Godric's Hollow after the issue with Ariana.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he was reminded of the fact that both he and Dumbledore grew up in the same area—and the man never bothered to talk about it. However, now that Harry was thinking about it, he found himself entertaining the thought of taking a visit to Godric's Hollow for some possible answers. He turned around to voice his thoughts to the others, but was interrupted by a deafening CRACK!

Harry yelped and jumped out of his chair, his nerves frazzled from both the loud noise and the mass of struggling limbs that appeared out of nowhere just a few feet from him. He was trying to calm his rapidly beating heart as Kreacher disentangled himself from the mess and bowed low to Harry.

"Kreacher has returned with the thief Mundungus Fletcher, Master."

Mundungus made a move for his wand, but thankfully Hermione was faster.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

Hermione caught the wand and before Mundungus could protest, he found himself shoved to his knees, arms bound, and with someone's hand on his shoulder and back of his head, tightly gripping his hair and preventing him from moving.

"Wha' the bleedin' hell?" he said, struggling against Naruto's grip for a few seconds. "Wha've I done? Setting a bleedin' 'ouse-elf on me, what are you playing at? Wha've I done? Lemme go, lemme go or—"

"You're not exactly in the position for making threats," Naruto growled, tightening his grip on Mundungus's hair. The shinobi crinkled his nose at the smell of the man he was restraining. He stank of stale sweat and tobacco smoke, and Naruto fervently prayed the interrogation wouldn't take too long.

"Kreacher apologizes for the delay in bringing the thief, Master," Kreacher croaked, sending a small bow in Harry's direction. "Fletcher knows how to avoid capture, has many hidey-holes and accomplices. Nevertheless, Kreacher corned the thief in the end."

Harry spared a moment to send a grateful smile to the elf. "You've done really well, Kreacher." He then walked up to Mundungus and pointed his wand deliberately at his nose. "Right, we've got a few questions for you."

"I panicked, okay? I never wanted to come along, no offense, mate, but I never volunteered to die for you, an' that was bleedin' You-Know-Who come flying at me, anyone woulda got outta there. I said all along I didn't wanna do it—"

Naruto frowned. Weren't they looking for a locket? What was he talking about? Thankfully, Ron whispered a reminder about what happened when Moody died and they were transferring Harry to a safer place. Naruto nodded his gratitude and refocused his attention to the discussion before him.

" . . . you cleaned out this house of anything valuable," Harry was saying, but was cut off by Mundungus.

"Sirius never cared about any of the junk—"

Naruto glanced up at the sound of pattering feet and barely leapt out of the way _(releasing his hold on Mundungus in the process)_ to avoid getting hit with the saucepan that Kreacher just clanged over the vagabond's head.

"Call 'im off, call 'im off, 'e should be locked up!" screamed Mundungus, cowering as the pan was brought near his head once more.

"Kreacher, no!" shouted Harry.

The elf's thin arms trembled with the weight of the pan but did not lower it. "Perhaps just one more, Master Harry, for luck?" Ron and Naruto snickered.

"We need him conscious, Kreacher," Harry said firmly, though the corners of his mouth quirked in amusement. "Though if he needs persuading, you can do the honors."

The elf bowed his thanks and shuffled back a few feet, his great pale eyes still fixed upon Mundungus with loathing.

"When you stripped this house of all the valuables you could find," Harry began once again, "you took a bunch—"

Deciding that Kreacher's threat served as reminder enough, Naruto fell into line beside Ron and simply watched Harry's interrogation. He kept his muscles tense though, ready to pounce at any moment's notice.

" . . . What did you do with it?"

"Why? Is it valuable?" asked Mundungus.

"You've still got it!" cried Hermione.

Ron scoffed. "No he hasn't. He's wondering whether he should have asked more money for it."

"More?" The man laughed bitterly. "That wouldn't have been effing difficult . . . bleedin' gave it away, di'n' I? No choice."

The four teens leaned in. "What do you mean?"

"I was selling in Diagon Alley and she come up to me and asks if I've got a license for trading in magical artifacts. Bleedin' snoop. She was gonna fine me, but she took a fancy to the locket an' told me she'd take it and let me off that time, and to fink meself lucky."

Naruto scratched his head in exasperation. He knew English well enough but this guy was making his head hurt trying to work through his accent. At least he was able to get the basic meaning of the conversation, but he didn't particularly like the feeling he was getting about the new owner of the locket.

"Who was this woman?" asked Harry.

"I dunno, some Ministry hag." The man considered for a moment, brow wrinkled. "Little woman. Bow on top of 'er head." He frowned and then added, "Looked like a toad."

Naruto watched the reactions of his wizard friends in confusion—Ron groaned, Hermione's hand flew up to her mouth in shock, and Harry dropped his wand. It hit Mundungus on the nose and shot red sparks into his eyebrows, which ignited.

_"Aquamenti!"_ screamed Hermione, leaving Mundungus soaked and sputtering but no longer on fire. There was silence for a few moments as Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at each other in dread. Harry's right hand started tingling and he suppressed a shudder at the unpleasant memories of the vile woman.

* * *

**So . . . does this help ease the justified anger you all undoubtedly have toward me? ^^; Did you like this new aspect to the war? Voldemort was able to combine shinobi fighting style with magic, thus leveling the playing field a little more.  
**

**Again I apologize for such a short chapter, but the next one will be longer and you'll get to see Kakashi return to the Burrow, learn of what happened with the meeting with Luna's father, and what happened when Gaara made cookies with Molly. **

_**I once again apologize for taking so long to update!**_

**And as a quick note, I have a Facebook account set up now so you can contact me immediately. :) The link is on my profile.**


End file.
